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Indian Immigrants Illegally Get Into the US; Trump Shuts Down Routes

Indian Immigrants Illegally Get Into the US; Trump Shuts Down Routes

One of the surprising statistics released by the United States Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration arm, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is that Indians are the fastest growing illegal immigrants into the US. While most of them come through its southern border, many of them involve students travelling to the US to study and then staying on to work, illegally. While the absolute number of Indians going to that country and over-staying there is rather small compared to the number of illegal immigrants from countries south of the US border, the growing number has obviously become a matter of concern for the DHS. Particularly, many of them, who use a well-worn route of applying to nondescript US universities, which facilitate the move. The latest episode involving a fake university, the University of Farmington established by the DHS, which ensnared 129 Indian students, mainly from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, follows in the footsteps of other scam universities such as Tri-Valley and Herguan. Much like the students in Farmington, a majority of them were from Telugu-speaking States. Unsurprisingly, a visit to the crowded lanes of Secunderabad will reveal that providing student immigration to the US via some rather questionable routes is a thriving business.

While one can understand what forced the students to do what they did, the Indian Government and the Ministry of External Affairs have done the right thing by demanding consular access to the students and petitioning to halt their deportation. However, given that US President Donald Trump holds extreme positions on immigration, it appears that many students will be deported unless they can find a good lawyer. But the US cannot escape the blame for the situation, like many Western countries that sell their education programmes in India while quietly whispering that it can be a path to eventual emigration. America has to strengthen the rules that govern such sham educational institutions. In Australia and the United Kingdom, several such varsities also existed and following crackdowns, many of them have folded up. At the same time, the US, a nation built on encouraging the best and the brightest from across the world to move there, has to ensure that genuine students do not get caught up in the fiasco. India has for years sent some of its brightest halfway across the world and they have made the US their adopted home. Although this brain drain has hurt India, it is also reflective of the lack of opportunity within this country. India should continue encouraging some of its children to return and, indeed, some have. That is another story for another time. For now, the US and India have to ensure that young students do not get caught up in any further controversies.

Writer and Courtesy: The Pioneer

Indian Immigrants Illegally Get Into the US; Trump Shuts Down Routes

Indian Immigrants Illegally Get Into the US; Trump Shuts Down Routes

One of the surprising statistics released by the United States Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration arm, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is that Indians are the fastest growing illegal immigrants into the US. While most of them come through its southern border, many of them involve students travelling to the US to study and then staying on to work, illegally. While the absolute number of Indians going to that country and over-staying there is rather small compared to the number of illegal immigrants from countries south of the US border, the growing number has obviously become a matter of concern for the DHS. Particularly, many of them, who use a well-worn route of applying to nondescript US universities, which facilitate the move. The latest episode involving a fake university, the University of Farmington established by the DHS, which ensnared 129 Indian students, mainly from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, follows in the footsteps of other scam universities such as Tri-Valley and Herguan. Much like the students in Farmington, a majority of them were from Telugu-speaking States. Unsurprisingly, a visit to the crowded lanes of Secunderabad will reveal that providing student immigration to the US via some rather questionable routes is a thriving business.

While one can understand what forced the students to do what they did, the Indian Government and the Ministry of External Affairs have done the right thing by demanding consular access to the students and petitioning to halt their deportation. However, given that US President Donald Trump holds extreme positions on immigration, it appears that many students will be deported unless they can find a good lawyer. But the US cannot escape the blame for the situation, like many Western countries that sell their education programmes in India while quietly whispering that it can be a path to eventual emigration. America has to strengthen the rules that govern such sham educational institutions. In Australia and the United Kingdom, several such varsities also existed and following crackdowns, many of them have folded up. At the same time, the US, a nation built on encouraging the best and the brightest from across the world to move there, has to ensure that genuine students do not get caught up in the fiasco. India has for years sent some of its brightest halfway across the world and they have made the US their adopted home. Although this brain drain has hurt India, it is also reflective of the lack of opportunity within this country. India should continue encouraging some of its children to return and, indeed, some have. That is another story for another time. For now, the US and India have to ensure that young students do not get caught up in any further controversies.

Writer and Courtesy: The Pioneer

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