6
Sunday
October 2024
5:41 AM IST
News Headlines
Home   | Main News   | Kerala  | National   | International  | Business   | Sports   | Entertainment   | Columns   | Offbeat   | About Deepika 
International News
Fleeing Indians entering US from Mexico
 
Washington: More and more Indians are entering the United States from the Mexican border. Since the beginning of the 2022 fiscal year that started last October, a record 16,290 Indian citizens have been taken into US custody at the Mexican border. The previous high of 8,997 was recorded in 2018, BBC reported.

Experts point to a number of reasons for the increase, including a climate of discrimination in India, an end to pandemic-era restrictions, a perception that the current US administration is welcoming to asylum seekers and the ramping-up of previously established smuggling networks.

While some migrants are coming to the US for economic reasons, many are fleeing persecution back home, said Deepak Ahluwalia, an immigration lawyer who has represented Indian nationals in Texas and California.

The latter group range from Muslims, Christians and "low-caste" Hindus to members of India's LGBT community who fear violence at the hands of extreme Hindu nationalists or supporters of the secessionist movement and farmers from the Punjab region, the BBC reported.

Conditions for many of these groups have deteriorated in recent years, international observers say.

Immigrants often see the US as "the ultimate gateway" to a better life, said Ahluwalia, the lawyer.

The enormous distances involved, however, make the trip to the US extremely challenging.

Traditionally, Indian migrants who arrive at the US-Mexican border use "door-to-door" smuggling services, with journeys arranged from India to South America.

They are often guided the entire way and travel in small groups with their fellow countrymen who speak the same language, rather than individually or with only family members.

These networks often begin with India-based "travel agents" which outsource parts of the journey to partner criminal groups in Latin America.

Jessica Bolter, an analyst at the Washington DC-based Migration Policy Institute, said that the number of Indian migrants is also rising as a result of a "ripple effect" that takes place when those who have used these services successfully recommend them to friends or family back in India.

"It naturally expands and draws more migrants," she said. "Of course, that doesn't happen without migrants wanting to leave originally."

Manpreet, a 20-year-old from Punjab who asked that only his first name be used, a vocal critic of India's ruling BJP, fled the country after being persecuted for his political beliefs, the BBC reported.

"From Ecuador I took a bus to Colombia, and from Colombia I took a bus to Panama," Manpreet recalled in an interview with the BBC from California. "From there, via a boat, I (went to) Nicaragua and Guatemala, and then Mexico and entered the US."

Even guided by seasoned smugglers, the trip to the border is often one that is fraught with dangers, including robberies and extortion at the hands of local gangs or corrupt authorities or extreme weather, injuries and illness.

These dangers were highlighted in 2019 when a six-year-old Indian girl from Punjab was found dead in the scorching desert near the border town of Lukeville, Arizona.

It was later reported that she died in temperatures of over 42 C (108 F) after her mother left her with a group of other Indians to go search for water.


64 arrested in London on Charles III coronation day
Bangladesh police arrest six persons for selling fraud US visa stamps
Erdogan announces extension of grain deal by 120 days
Musk hints at new chief for Twitter
Modi interacts with Biden, Sunak and Macron on sidelines of G20 summit
PM Modi arrives in Bali for G20 Summit and bilateral meetings with key world leaders
Biden says US will 'vigorously' compete with China
Biden admin committed to work with India on its transition away from Russia: White House
Time to act faster on climate change: Rishi Sunak at COP27
Imran Khan-led march against Pak govt to resume Tuesday, discharged from hospital
Massive missile strike by Russia on major Ukraine cities
Stampede kills 8 at concert in DR Congo
UN chief welcomes forming of new govt in Iraq
Erdogan vows to adopt new Turkish constitution in 2023
Boris Johnson pulls out of UK PM race, Rishi Sunak closer to victory
Rishi Sunak would beat Liz Truss if UK PM poll held now, survey finds
Imran Khan stuns PML-N-led ruling coalition in bypolls; wins 6 National Assembly seats
PM Shehbaz dubs Imran as greatest 'fraudster ever'
Imran demands end to 'reign of robbers' in Sindh
Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 3 yrs in prison
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
'Ponniyin Selvan II' breaches Rs 300 crore mark at global box office
 Chennai: Director Mani Ratnam's magnum opus "Ponniyin Selvan II" has raised over Rs 300 crore at the  
Selena Gomez sets record straight on her relationship status amid dating rumours
Ranveer Singh bags Filmfare Best Actor for '83'
RRR can hit theatres on Holi
KERALA NEWS
Top police official held in gang rape case
 Kozhikode: Police on Sunday arrested a Circle Inspector (station house officer) attached in Beypore
Rain likely to occur many places in Kerala
Two killed as car plunged into well
Kerala CM greet Oommen Chandy on his 79th birthday
NATIONAL NEWS
Quo Vadis, Manipur?
 Imphal - Hardly any state in India has undergone in the last decade the chaos, lawlessness and suffe
27-year-old Hyderabad woman among victims of Texas mall shooting
One held in Swati Maliwal case: Delhi Police
PM to deliver opening address at 'No Money for Terror' event
Untitled Page
Rashtra Deepika LTD
Copyright @ 2021 , Rashtra Deepika Ltd.