February 7,2019:
Group of Congressmen, including Indian American Raja Krishmamoorthi, have written to U.S. Authorities, asking that Indian students arrested in University of Farmington sting operation be “treated properly”.
Letter has been sent to Heads of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has three other signatories Thomas R. Suozzi, Brenda Lawrence and Rob Woodall.
It further states that,“The Indian-American community and Indian Consulate have expressed concerns regarding the treatment of these detained foreign nationals”.
Letter states that,“We urge DHS and ICE to ensure the detained students are treated properly and afforded all rights provided to them under the law, including access to an attorney and release on bond, if they are eligible”.
Members of Congress highlight that numbers on Indian students in the U.S. comprise of 17.3% of all international students or over 1,86,000 and their role in people-to-people exchanges.
“In the spirit of continuing cooperation on educational exchange programs, which benefit both countries economically and culturally, we ask that you ensure the students involved in this case are treated fairly, humanely, and in accordance with due process,” the letter adds.
Lawmakers have requested that “full details and regular updates” be shared with Indian officials and that the DHS and ICE facilitate consular access to the detainees. Their own offices have also requested an update.
Indian diplomats have had consular access to all Indian nationals detained in the Farmington case, Indian Embassy told The Hindu.
Source Hindu
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