TO curtail asylum rights of illegal Indian migrants, the United Kingdom has added India to its list of ‘safe’ countries such as Switzerland and those in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) where there is no risk of persecution of their nationals. Through this move, the UK Government has set the ball rolling to effectively block avenues for illegal Indian immigrants to seek asylum in the UK. They would now be detained and sent back home.
The UK has witnessed an increase in the arrival of small boats from India over the past few years. This prompted the UK Government to reassess its approach and take steps against illegal migrants. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been on a mission to change the law to ‘stop the boats’ since he took over.
Thousands of migrants were risking their lives to enter Britain through the English Channel from Italy, Serbia, France, etc., in small, risky boats. Indians, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, undertake such hazardous journeys as they are trafficked into these countries through the ‘donkey route’ by paying huge sums of money to unscrupulous agents.
A well-oiled system, in which devious people help the asylum-seekers by exploiting loopholes in the rules, has evolved over the past few decades as illegal immigrants, including terrorists and gangsters, are desperate to make a ‘good’ life in the West by staking it all, even their lives or their freedom.
Haryana’s Indian National Lok Dal made a splash recently when it informed the US authorities that the party’s letterheads were being forged by imposters seeking political influence.
Some politicians in Punjab and Haryana have been allegedly charging hefty sums to issue letters certifying religious and political persecution. After the new rules, Indians who travel to the UK illegally will have sparse chances of seeking asylum in Britain.
UK media reports have exposed how some lawyers are abusing the country’s immigration policy. A report alleged that for £10,000, solicitors were giving tips to illegal immigrants to make their asylum cases strong. They are told to narrate fabricated stories about having faced persecution in India – for supporting Khalistanis, being gay, or belonging to a certain caste. The loopholes in the immigration systems have been exploited by anti-India elements and organised criminals to operate from the West. The latest move will make it easier for the Indian Government to seek repatriation of fugitives from law seeking haven in the UK.
However, it is not only UK which faces the problem of these undocumented illegal immigrants from India. The US, Canada and other Western countries are also their favoured destination. According to new data from the US Customs and Border Protection, from October 2022 to September this year, 96,917 Indians were apprehended, expelled or denied entry, having entered the US without papers.
Organised crime syndicates and anti-India elements in these countries are using increasingly sophisticated and in-demand methods for recruiting gullible Indians as their foot soldiers.
These countries should also follow the UK example. On their part, the Union and state governments should also take effective steps to smash the operators who facilitate illegal and risky foreign travel by offering false promises to gullible Indians for hefty sums.
