Last Thursday, Mexico put 311 Indians, who had entered the country to cross over to the US, on a flight back to New Delhi. Each of them had paid agents between Rs.25 lakhs and Rs.30 lakhs to get to the US, just as thousands of others have done in the past. How do illegal migrants get there? What are the routes they follow? What happens if they are caught?
Here is Manpreet Singh's case study:-
A 30-year-old from Punjab's Hoshiarpur, he decided to go west illegally in 2014. His family
borrowed Rs.26 lakhs to give an agent. He was one of 30 from Punjab being trafficked into US. He
flew from Dubai to Russia before being taken to Ecuador. There he had to stay for two months.
From Ecuador, the group was flown to Gautemala, where they spent nights in a forest.
Some of the travel to Mexico - the last stop before the crossing into the US - was done in vehicles,
for the last two hours, the group went on foot to avoid border patrols. In Mexico, the group split up
and Manpreet ended up in the home of a local policeman, which was a safe haven for illegal
migrants. The house was locked from the outside so that neighbours and authorities wouldn't know
that there were occupants. He spent a month and a half there.
Then, one morning, they were taken separately to cross the border to Texas. But Manpreet got
caught by the police. Nine months later, in Jul '15, he was deported to India.
Refugee or illegal migrant?
* It's often assumed that there's a clear line between those who are fleeing persecution, identified as
refugees and those identified as illegal migrants.
* But in reality, before being recognised as a refugee, most people have had to cross an international
border. They may well have been unable to obtain visas to do this and so may have moved
irregularly.
* Some people have to leave their homes for other reasons, such as loss of land from rising seas or
economic collapse, which means they could not stay put but might not qualify for recognition as
refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Majorities in most immigrant destination countries, surveyed by Pew Research Centre, support the deportation of people who are in their countries illegally.
Tailpiece.
Rema and Padmakumar were ready to return to Thrippunithura soon after breakfast. I'd dropped them at the Private Bus Stand from where they got a bus to Vyttila, almost immediately. They'd called up, soon after lunchtime, to tell us about their arrival at home.
The rain, soon after tea time, was heavy but stopped after about two hours.
Here is Manpreet Singh's case study:-
A 30-year-old from Punjab's Hoshiarpur, he decided to go west illegally in 2014. His family
borrowed Rs.26 lakhs to give an agent. He was one of 30 from Punjab being trafficked into US. He
flew from Dubai to Russia before being taken to Ecuador. There he had to stay for two months.
From Ecuador, the group was flown to Gautemala, where they spent nights in a forest.
Some of the travel to Mexico - the last stop before the crossing into the US - was done in vehicles,
for the last two hours, the group went on foot to avoid border patrols. In Mexico, the group split up
and Manpreet ended up in the home of a local policeman, which was a safe haven for illegal
migrants. The house was locked from the outside so that neighbours and authorities wouldn't know
that there were occupants. He spent a month and a half there.
Then, one morning, they were taken separately to cross the border to Texas. But Manpreet got
caught by the police. Nine months later, in Jul '15, he was deported to India.
Refugee or illegal migrant?
* It's often assumed that there's a clear line between those who are fleeing persecution, identified as
refugees and those identified as illegal migrants.
* But in reality, before being recognised as a refugee, most people have had to cross an international
border. They may well have been unable to obtain visas to do this and so may have moved
irregularly.
* Some people have to leave their homes for other reasons, such as loss of land from rising seas or
economic collapse, which means they could not stay put but might not qualify for recognition as
refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Majorities in most immigrant destination countries, surveyed by Pew Research Centre, support the deportation of people who are in their countries illegally.
Tailpiece.
Rema and Padmakumar were ready to return to Thrippunithura soon after breakfast. I'd dropped them at the Private Bus Stand from where they got a bus to Vyttila, almost immediately. They'd called up, soon after lunchtime, to tell us about their arrival at home.
The rain, soon after tea time, was heavy but stopped after about two hours.
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