Crackdown on immigration in US: Several Indians among over 100 people detained

Washington, Aug 14: In a majot crackdown on illegal immigration, the US border patrol and immigration officials have in separate enforcement actions detained over 100 people for illegally entering and living in the country, reported PTI. Among the detained are several Indians.

The exact number of Indian national detained has not yet been revealed.

Individuals from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Cuba, Nigeria, Chile and Turkey are also said to have been detained along with Indian nationals.

Federal Officers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 45 people in the Houston area for violating US immigration laws during a five-day enforcement action, as per a PTI report.

The local enforcement operation targeted at-large criminal aliens, many of whom had absconded from prior immigration proceedings, ICE statement said.

The agency said some of the individuals arrested during the operation will face federal criminal prosecution for illegal entry and illegal re-entry after deportation.

Arrestees who are not being federally prosecuted, will be detained in ICE custody and administratively processed for removal from the US, it said.

In a separate action, US Border Patrol agents discovered 78 illegal aliens inside a locked refrigerated trailer at a checkpoint in Texas last week.

Earlier, nearly 100 Indians, mostly from Punjab, were detained at two immigration detention centres for illegally entering the US through its southern border.

President Donald Trump had reversed his controversial decision on immigration by signing an executive order to end the separation of immigrant families on the US-Mexico border, following widespread protests against the move of his administration to separate children from their parents who illegally enter the country.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs