Some hospitalised after going on hunger strike
Over 40 asylum-seekers from Punjab, variously described as victims of police persecution and human trafficking by agencies charging a hefty fee, have been languishing in a US detention facility in El Paso, Texas for nearly 10 months after being held on charges of illegal entry into the country.
The men, mostly Sikhs in their 20s from Punjab’s Doaba region, were picked up in June and July last year after they reportedly tried to enter the US unauthorisedly from a port of entry in New Mexico.
In a bid to draw attention to their prolonged detention, 43 detainees recently went on hunger-strike, which they ended last Wednesday. Six of them have had to be hospitalised, says the California-based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), which has taken up their cause.
“The (New York-based) Sikh Coalition has joined hands with us and we are trying our best to get parole for all the detainees,” NAPA’s executive director Satnam Singh Chahal said in a statement.
The detainees crossed into America after a long and circuitous road that reportedly took them to Moscow, Havana, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Most of them entered the US last June and July through Columbus in New Mexico, where they were detained and transferred to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s El Paso Processing Centre.
Chahal argues that there is “zero evidence” that any of the detainees has a criminal background. As such, they should be set free on parole without any further delay. As part of the quest for speedy justice, NAPA is also seeking transfer of the cases from the 5th circuit court to the 9th circuit.
John lawit, a Dallas-based attorney hired to take up the cases of some of the detainees, told El Paso Times that the men are seeking political asylum and have gone through “credible fear interviews establishing their reasons for seeking asylum”.
“They’re determined to continue with their hunger strike until they are released,” lawit. The detainees have reportedly claimed that they have been activists of a particular Sikh party that has been targeted for violent attacks. They are also reported to have submitted documentation of relatives living in the US who are either citizens or permanent residents. To date, two of the detainees have succeeded in obtaining parole.
Without going into details of the case involving the Indian detainees, ICE spokeswoman letty Zamarripa has been quoted as saying that the agency respects the rights of all people to express their opinion without interference.
“While we continue to work with Congress to enact common sense immigration reform, ICE remains committed to sensible, effective immigration enforcement that focuses on its priorities, including convicted criminals and those apprehended at the border while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States,” the spokeswoman said.