Exodus from Gujarat and Punjab: Illegal immigration and human smuggling

Los Angeles Times, February 06, 2011|By Richard Marosi and Andrew Becker
Surge of immigrants from India baffles border officials in Texas
Thousands from India have entered Texas illegally from Mexico in the last year. Most are Sikhs who claim religious persecution at home.

Reporting from Harlingen, Texas — Thousands of immigrants from India have crossed into the United States illegally at the southern tip of Texas in the last year, part of a mysterious and rapidly growing human-smuggling pipeline that is backing up court dockets, filling detention centers and triggering investigations.

The immigrants, mostly young men from poor villages, say they are fleeing religious and political persecution. More than 1,600 Indians have been caught since the influx began here early last year, while an undetermined number, perhaps thousands, are believed to have sneaked through undetected, according to U.S. border authorities.

Hundreds have been released on their own recognizance or after posting bond. They catch buses or go to local Indian-run motels before flying north for the final leg of their months-long journeys.

"It was long … dangerous, very dangerous," said one young man wearing a turban outside the bus station in the Rio Grande Valley town of Harlingen.

The Indian migration in some ways mirrors the journeys of previous waves of immigrants from far-flung places, such as China and Brazil, who have illegally crossed the U.S. border here. But the suddenness and still-undetermined cause of the Indian migration baffles many border authorities and judges.

The trend has caught the attention of anti-terrorism officials because of the pipeline's efficiency in delivering to America's doorstep large numbers of people from a troubled region. Authorities interview the immigrants, most of whom arrive with no documents, to ensure that people from neighboring Pakistan or Middle Eastern countries are not slipping through.

There is no evidence that terrorists are using the smuggling pipeline, FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials said.

The influx shows signs of accelerating: About 650 Indians were arrested in southern Texas in the last three months of 2010 alone. Indians are now the largest group of immigrants other than Latin Americans being caught at the Southwest border.

The migration is the "most significant" human-smuggling trend being tracked by U.S. authorities, said Kumar Kibble, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. In 2009, the Border Patrol arrested only 99 Indians along the entire Southwest border.

It's a dramatic increase," Kibble said. "We do want to monitor these pipelines and shut them down because it is a vulnerability. They could either knowingly or unknowingly smuggle people into the U.S. that pose a national security threat."

Most of the immigrants say they are from the Punjab or Gujarat states. They are largely Sikhs who say they face religious persecution, or members of the Bharatiya Janata Party who say they are targeted for beatings by members of the National Congress Party.
Surge of immigrants from India baffles border officials in Texas: click here to read more
Comment: The reasons are simple- Villagers are duped by scamsters who are generally Political criminals- India graduating to a Banana Republic which has hastened grinding poverty and farmers committing suicide- Truly the nation is on the path to FAKE democracy!

The silent Bangladeshi invasion of Assam

2010-05-14 17:52:29
Subir Ghosh​
A week ago, an unsettling incident occurred in Assam that went largely unnoticed in the Indian media.
Over a thousand suspected illegal migrants crossed the Dhansiri river and, with impunity, took over parts of Orang National Park in Darrang district in the early hours of May 6, 2010
India has 20 million illegal migrants
Enumeration of electors in Assam by the Election Commission showed more than 30 per cent increase in 17 Assembly constituencies and more than 20 per cent increase in 40 constituencies between 1994 and 1997.

Read more: The silent Bangladeshi invasion of Assam
Subir Ghosh is a senior Delhi -based journalist. He blogs at http://www.write2kill.in/

Greed and Corruption is a erupting volcano in India in comparison to dormant USA

Will Bharka Dutt of NDTV fame come out with a similar video as applicable to "We the People" of India who are objects subject to Political Terror?

Dear Sir,
Your Post July 16 "We the people stimulus package" is superb. I played and watched it more than ten times. In fact I want to take down the text and convert it to our situation and publish it on the Kargil Diwas day. Let me see whether I can do it or not. But I will try. Thank u very much for enlightening the readers of your blog.

When Americans can do it. We can also do. But it will take min 50 years. We must make our children to make a new India. Because India is in their hands. But unfortunately most our children fly out to USA and apply for green card, and creating more and more Classic Homes in India. Anyhow let us see what happens. I wish our dream for a corruption free new India should emerge soon.
Jai Hind.
With kind regards,
C Muthukrishnan

Obama a messiah for Chennai family

Press Trust of India
Sunday, January 25, 2009 1:40 PM (Chennai)
US President Barack Obama may have won more hearts around the world while running for Presidency, but for a Chennai family, he became a messiah five years ago when he helped a woman get a US visa.

For Sujatha Adsumilli, Obama has a special place in her heart. She even prayed for the success of the Illinois Senator after the Democrat was named for the Presidential race.

Sujatha wanted to fly to the US in 2004 for her son A Vijay Kumar's house warming ceremony, but officials at American consulate denied her a visa as she was a widow and they considered her a "potential immigrant", her elder son A Ramesh Kumar told PTI.

"Officials feared she could end up living there with my brother Vijay Kumar, who has US citizenship. Vijay wrote to then Illinois Senator Obama, telling him of the problem, who wrote to the State Department and the Consulate in Chennai asking them to consider the matter under Department of state guidelines," he said.

This was enough to spur the officials into action to grant her a 10-year multiple entry visa to the US.

Sujatha left for US in 2005 for the "grahapravesam" and also tried to personally thank Obama, but in vain. She rues missing the opportunity to meet him "as he had just left his office."

"But the staff at his office extended great hospitality and promised me that they would convey my greetings to him," Sujatha said.
Obama a messiah for Chennai family

Obama Inauguration speech
Watching him deliver his memorable speech with spontaneity, clearly gave an indication of his sincere feelings to serve not only the nation but also the humanity. Every word he spoke exuded confidence.

It is never easy for a leader to comment on issues like corruption and deceit, but the newly elect President was bold enough to say, "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."