Bus loads of Indians seeking asylum in the United States are being dropped off almost daily at an Arizona bus station by the Department of Homeland Security, reports the Hattiesburg American.
They show up without legal visas and then request political asylum. Many pay upwards of $35,000 to smugglers to take them from India, landing first in Central America before crossing the border into the United States.
No one knows whats behind this surge of asylum applicants from India, which numbers in the thousands, according to some estimates.
Some are concerned they are abusing the system.
Others suspect they are being exploited by the smugglers.
“They are going to have a hard time paying off smuggling debts, and that could put them in a forced labor situation,” said Elizabeth Chatham of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
You can read a lot more about how these Indians are being smuggled and what may be behind it in the Hattiesburg American.
