MCRI ·
Surge of immigrants from India baffles border officials in Texas
Thousands from India have entered Texas illegally from Mexico in the last year. Most are Sikhs who claim religious persecution at home.
By Richard Marosi and Andrew Becker
Chicago Tribune
February 6, 2011
By Richard Marosi and Andrew Becker
February 6, 2011
Reporting from Harlingen, Texas —
Thousands of immigrants from India have crossed into the United States illegally at the southern tip of Texas in the last year, part of a mysterious and rapidly growing human-smuggling pipeline that is backing up court dockets, filling detention centers and triggering investigations.
The immigrants, mostly young men from poor villages, say they are fleeing religious and political persecution. More than 1,600 Indians have been caught since the influx began here early last year, while an undetermined number, perhaps thousands, are believed to have sneaked through undetected, according to U.S. border authorities.
Hundreds have been released on their own recognizance or after posting bond. They catch buses or go to local Indian-run motels before flying north for the final leg of their months-long journeys.