Indian travel agents face US visa ban for facilitating illegal migration

WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Monday that it was imposing visa restrictions on owners and other staff at India-based travel agencies that it says knowingly facilitate illegal migration to the United States.

An unspecified number of unnamed people linked to travel agencies in India were being hit with visa bans under the Immigration and Nationality Act based on information gathered by the US mission to India, department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

Washington often issues visa bans without publishing the names of those targeted.

“We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks,” Bruce said, without detailing how the travel agents had facilitated illegal migration.

The move comes amid President Donald Trump’s broad crackdown on migration to the United States and efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in the country.

Read more: Trump asks Apple to shift out of India

The US embassy in New Delhi has repeatedly posted on its social media sites warning for Indian nationals visiting the United States not to overstay their authorized period of stay in the country, warning they will face deportation and a permanent ban from entering the country for doing so.

DEPORTATION OF INDIANS BY THE BEST FRIEND

The number of illegal migrants from India to the United States is on the rise in recent years.

Experts say there are multiple factors behind this trend. Among these, overall growth in global migration since the pandemic, oppression of minorities in India, and sophisticated human traffickers are most important.

However, human trafficking has become one of the most lucrative businesses. Some even say that human trafficking has more money than the drugs, especially when it comes to helping the migrants crossing the US border.

As President Donald Trump came into power a promise to crack down on migration, India saw its citizens being deported back home in US military aircraft.

Meanwhile, it is embarrassing for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has always described Trump as his best friend. In fact, these flights started just two days after Modi’s visit to the United States to meet Trump.

However, this policy is only intensification of the deportation process. The US has been apprehending, expelling or denying entry to thousands of illegal Indian migrants even during the term of Joe Biden.