Illegal Immigrants from India Stream Into US From Mexico
Hundreds of undocumented immigrants from India are taking an unusual route to the United States, illegally crossing from Mexico into Arizona to seek political asylum
Those numbers are likely to rise in 2014, the head of a D.C.-based Asian immigrant rights group told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Deepa Iyer, executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together, said "it's not clear" why immigrants from India are using the same route as Central Americans.
One reason may be that many South American countries don't require visas, Eleanor Sohnen, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, told the Arizona Daily Star. Many can pay up to $35,000 to be smuggled into the country.
Some Indians simply surrender at Nogales, Az., while others are caught by Border Partrol and detained.
Iyer said the U.S. immigration system is broken and desperate immigrants don't want to waitfive to 10 years to join loved ones in the United States, while others have fled India, a country of 1.2 billion people, claiming political persecution.
U.S. asylum officers must determine whether their claims are credible. Some are set free but must show up at an immigration hearing at a later date, while others remain in detention, the Arizona Republic reports.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com Illegal Immigrants from India Stream Into US From Mexico
Hundreds of undocumented immigrants from India are taking an unusual route to the United States, illegally crossing from Mexico into Arizona to seek political asylum
Those numbers are likely to rise in 2014, the head of a D.C.-based Asian immigrant rights group told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Deepa Iyer, executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together, said "it's not clear" why immigrants from India are using the same route as Central Americans.
One reason may be that many South American countries don't require visas, Eleanor Sohnen, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a D.C.-based think tank, told the Arizona Daily Star. Many can pay up to $35,000 to be smuggled into the country.
Some Indians simply surrender at Nogales, Az., while others are caught by Border Partrol and detained.
Iyer said the U.S. immigration system is broken and desperate immigrants don't want to waitfive to 10 years to join loved ones in the United States, while others have fled India, a country of 1.2 billion people, claiming political persecution.
U.S. asylum officers must determine whether their claims are credible. Some are set free but must show up at an immigration hearing at a later date, while others remain in detention, the Arizona Republic reports.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com Illegal Immigrants from India Stream Into US From Mexico