Indians One of the Largest Ethnic Groups Arrested for Illegal Entry into the US

While US President Donald Trump has been spewing rhetoric about needing a border wall with Mexico to take care of illegal immigrant entering into his country, it appears as though Indians are one of the largest ethnic groups who have been using the border between the US and Mexico to make their way into the US. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported on Friday that so far in 2018, the number of Indians arrested for illegal entry has tripled, with approximately 9,000 Indians being arrested, as against 3,162 in 2017.

According to CBP spokesman, Salvador Zamora, payments ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 are made to smuggling rings by Indians in the hopes of being guaranteed entry into the US. Once they have made it past the borders, many claim to have made the illegal entry as a matter of escaping persecution, with common alibis including persecution by their communities for marrying outside, and also political persecution. Referring to many of the cases being ones of false evidence, Zamora referred to them as “cut and paste” evidence.

Approximately 4,000 Indians of those arrested so far crossed into the US at Mexicali, because there were rumors that this section of the border was the easiest point for them to sneak into the country. Once they have made it inside the US, many of them are released from detention centers through the payments of bonds, taking up menial work in hotels and other small establishments to pay off the debt they have incurred to smugglers in getting into the US, and also for their bonds.