As many as 129 Indians are among the 130 foreign students arrested on Wednesday by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for enrolling at the fake Farmington University in Greater Detroit, allegedly to remain in the US.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a demarche to the American Embassy on Saturday, expressing concern over the detention of 129 Indian students in the US, and sought immediate consular access to them.
The demarche underlined that the students, "who may have been duped into enrolling in the University should be treated differently from those recruiters who have duped them". A spokesperson from the American Embassy confirmed that they had received the demarche.
As many as 129 Indians are among the 130 foreign students arrested on Wednesday by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for enrolling at the fake Farmington University in Greater Detroit, allegedly to remain in the US. "Our concern over the dignity and well-being of the detained students and the need for immediate consular access for Indian officials to the detainees was reiterated," the MEA said. "We have urged the US side to share full details and regular updates of the students, to release them at the earliest and not to resort to deportation against their will."
The Indian mission and consulates have visited several detention centres to extend consular assistance to the students, MEA said. "So far, about 30 Indian students have been contacted by our officers. Efforts to contact the remaining Indian students continue," it said.
"Each consulate in USA is getting consular access to students detained in their jurisdiction," said Surendra Adhana, deputy consul general at the Indian Consulate in Houston. "We got two. There will be a third one in San Antonio (on Saturday) despite it being a holiday." Officials from the Houston consulate met the detained Indian students at the Montgomery Processing centre and Prairieland Detention centre in Texas.
The Indian Embassy has also appointed a nodal officer to handle and coordinate all related issues. Federal investigators say the students who took admission in the university knew that the programme was illegal. US Officials say all 129 Indian students face deportation. A number of them have been put under house arrest and a tracking device has been fixed on their ankle which alerts authorities if they move out of a designated area.
Helpline
- 24/7 helpline has been established at the Indian embassy in Washington DC
- Call +1-202-322-1190, +1-202-340-2590 and e-mail cons3.washington@mea.gov.in
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