Ahmedabad: Their timing could not have been worse. As Republican Donald Trump prepared to assume office as the US President again, 18 Gujaratis crossed borders, braved dangers and risked everything for a future in America. But as they stepped onto US soil on Jan 19 and 20, they walked straight into the hands of American authorities. They were processed under the ‘catch and release’ policy and were part of a larger group of 33 Gujaratis among 104 Indians deported from the US this week.
On Thursday, they returned home not as success stories, but as cautionary tales.
A source in the human smuggling network close to the development said, “An agent from Nardipur in Kalol taluka of Gandhinagar and his counterpart in Mehsana organized the illegal journey for these 18 individuals. They were smuggled into the US through the Mexico border.”
All 18 are from North Gujarat, a region known as a hub for human smuggling operations.
Their journey had been rushed, said the source. “The human smugglers pushed them to enter the US way before Trump took the oath, fearing stricter immigration policies. But, for some reason, they could not cross over in time. They were caught and marked for deportation almost immediately.”
Sources said that the remaining 15 Gujaratis had been in the US for periods ranging from one month to four years. They did not get permission to stay even though they sought asylum, citing political persecution.
“US authorities have become more stringent in granting asylum based on claims of political, racial or regional discrimination. Many Gujaratis sought asylum on these grounds, which often proved unsubstantiated during legal inquiries. After Trump came to power, he implemented the ‘catch and release’ policy and began sending Gujaratis and other Indians back to the country,” explained a source within the human smuggling network.
A US military aircraft carrying the first batch of 104 illegal immigrants from India landed at Amritsar airport on Wednesday.