Rama Krishna Sangem
President Trump administration is tough on illegal migrants. The US has been sending back those who are in America against to its law, but illegal migration may not stop. As the dubious agents continue to lure innocents with great life in the US, the trend may go on, if not openly as it was til now. Only a tough domestic law prohibiting illegal migration can stop this. There is no point in crying foul over handcuffing or leg-chaining in the crammed flights, that take them back home.
The second batch of undocumented Indian immigrants deported from the United States landed in Punjab on Saturday. A US C-17 military aircraft carrying 116 people arrived at Amritsar International Airport, following an earlier deportation of 104 individuals on February 5.
US authorities have identified around 18,000 Indian nationals believed to have entered the country illegally, as mass deportations continue to be a policy focus for Donald Trump.
Over the past 15 years, 15,756 Indians living illegally in the US have been sent back, according to India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar. Many say they were deceived by agents, while others knowingly took the risk.
No control on illegal migration
In a telephonic conversation with Business Standard, immigration attorney and founder of Ajmera Law Group, Prashant Ajmera, said the government has failed to regulate agents who facilitate illegal migration, said quoted in a Business Standard story.
“Every year in parliament, this question is raised: how many migrants are going illegally? How many complaints have been received? The Ministry of External Affairs receives complaints daily, with people reporting that they were taken by an agent and that the government is not taking action. The government does not seem interested in regulating agents and consultants, which is why these individuals have spread across India,” Ajmera said.
He explained that attempts at reform have stalled. “In the 1970s and 1980s, when immigration picked up pace, the Emigration Act, 1983 was introduced to regulate the migration of Indian workers to the Middle East under the Ministry of External Affairs. In 2019, the government drafted a new bill (Emigration Bill, 2019) during Sushma Swaraj’s tenure as minister to replace the outdated one, but it remains in draft form. In 2023, an Emigration (Amendment) Bill was introduced, focusing on improving the welfare of emigrants. As of now, this amendment has not been enacted into law.”
He pointed out the lack of oversight. “Tomorrow, for example, you could decide to stop writing a column and become an immigration consultant. There’s nothing to stop you.”
