US Congressmen ask authorities to fairly deal with detained Indian students

HYDERABAD: Four US Congressmen have written to the US authorities requesting that the Indian students arrested in an immigration fraud be “treated fairly and properly” and given all rights provided under law, including access to an attorney.

The letter to the authorities was signed by Thomas R Suozzi, Brenda Lawrence, Raja Krishnamoorti and Rob Woodall. The letter was addressed to Kirstjen M Nielsen, secretary, department of homeland security, and Ronald D Vitiello, acting director, US immigration and customs enforcement, in Washington.

“We write to you with concerns surrounding the recent undercover operation conducted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in which HIS special agents operated a fake university (University of Farmington) designed to target recruiters and foreign students believed to be engaged in immigration fraud,” they said in the letter expressing concern at the arrest of eight students and detention of 129 Indian nationals. “The Indian-American community and Indian consulate have expressed concerns regarding the treatment of these detained foreign nationals,” they said.

The Congressmen pointed out that India was an important strategic partner and friend to the United States. It was mentioned that in 2017, Indian students comprised 17.3 per cent of all international students in the US, numbering 1.86 lakh.

“These students are a vital pillar of the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and they come to the US on grounds of merit. In the spirit of continuing cooperation on educational exchange programmes, which benefit both countries economically and culturally, we ask that you ensure that the students involved in this case are treated fairly, humanely, and in according with due process,” they said.

The four Congressmen have also asked that their offices be provided with an update on the detained Indian students.