A US-based organisation working for South Asian migrants in the country, has demanded an investigation into the death of a six-year-old Indian-origin girl whose body was found by US Border Patrol agents
SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) says it is sending a letter of inquiry to Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Kevin K. McAleenan, demanding an investigation into Gurupreet Kaur's death and information about her mother and the other migrants in their group.
Lakshmi Sridaran, Interim Co-Executive Director of SAALT said, “U.S. border militarization, forced migration, and rejection of migrants attempting to cross at ports of entry have created an environment where a child like Gurupreet, can die in the desert, alone.
"Until this system is completely defunded and a new one is created that upholds the dignity of all migrants – we will continue to see unspeakable tragedies, notwithstanding the countless deaths that go undocumented.
Migrants from India are detained by Mexican immigration officials at a checkpoint in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, June 10, 2019. Source: AAP
"While ICE and CBP have experienced unprecedented surges in their budgets, their treatment of migrants has plunged to new lows. ”
"Of the South Asians who end up in detention facilities, SAALT has tracked a pattern of abuse including inadequate language access, lack of religious accommodations, medical neglect, use of solitary confinement, and unacceptably high bond amounts," the statement reads.
Six-year-old Indian girl Gurpreet Kaur’s remains were found last week 17 miles west of Lukeville, Arizona on the US-Mexico border.
“The girl had reportedly been travelling with four others dropped near the international boundary by human smugglers who ordered the group to cross in the dangerous and austere location,” US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
The US officials were searching for two children and a woman who had become separated from the group. Two Indian women, apprehended earlier, told the Customs and Border Protection agents about them.
“Agents took the two women into custody and began searching the area north of the international border in remote terrain, seven miles west of Quitobaquito Springs, for the missing persons. Within hours, they discovered the little girl’s remains, which were recovered by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department,” read the statement.
As the sun rises over the mountains, US Border Patrol Arent Jason Bush begins his shift along the Mexican border. Source: Getty Images
Experts were not surprised by this heartbreaking discovery as the number of Indians trying to enter the US from the Southwest border has risen significantly in recent years.
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A total of 8,997 Indian nationals were apprehended at the US-Mexico border in 2017-2018, over three times from the previous year when 2,943 Indian migrants were apprehended.
In 2015-16, 3,480 Indian nationals were apprehended by US officials.
Director of Communications at the Migration Policy Institute, Ms Michelle Mittelstadt, says the rise in numbers is a result of a combination of factors.
“The increases undoubtedly are the result of a combination of push factors and pull factors – the latter including the sense that as the Trump administration is seeking to harden the border and build a wall, now might be the time to come before conditions toughen further,” she said.
Migrants scramble across the Rio Bravo to surrender to the American authorities, on the US - Mexico border between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Source: AAP Image/ AP Photo/ Photo/Christian Torres
Though the rise in Indian-origin migrants apprehended at the Southwest border is notable, it is minimal compared to the total number of people apprehended by the authorities.
Most of the people come from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In the current financial year so far, only 7% of total apprehensions at the Southwest border were from other continents.
Michelle Mittelstadt says, “While apprehensions at the US-Mexico border have in recent years been overwhelmingly migrants from the Northern Triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras), as well as to a much lesser extent Mexico, extra-continental migration has been rising as well.
Source: SBS
"Although overall apprehensions fell to a 46-year low in fiscal 2017, with about 304,000 arrests, they have risen significantly since then amid rising migration in particular from Central America, but also beyond the region.”
Indians and others trying to enter the US illegally after making journeys of thousands of kilometres are not very low-skilled people with low education and meagre resources, according to Ms Mittelstadt.
“One of the things that are often poorly understood about migration is that it is rarely the poorest that migrate. It takes resources to migrate, in particular when coming from far-off locations and in an era when increased US border controls have resulted in ever-higher smuggling fees. For Indians and others from Asia, this migration route is likely to involve air travel to places such as Ecuador or Brazil and then travel via a land route with smugglers to the US border through Central America and Mexico.”
As the case of Gurpreet Kaur demonstrates, people are bringing children with them. According to some media reports, Gurpreet died after her mother left her to get water. The temperature in the area has been over 40 degrees in recent weeks.
According to the US Customs and Border Patrol, there has been a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied children and family members trying to cross the border.
Mexican Federal Police patrol along a fence ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to Calexico, California, across from the U.S.-Mexico border in Mexicali Source: Eros Hoagland/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“In May, unaccompanied children and family members made up the majority of apprehensions, with more than 11,000 unaccompanied children and more than 84,000 family members,” US Customs and Border Protection said earlier this month.
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Ms Mittelstadt from the Migration Policy Institute says the smuggling networks are spreading the message that families can enter the US quickly.
“Smuggling and family networks have been quite effective in spreading the word in Central America that US policy and legal rulings make it easier for migrants to enter the United States without prior authorization if accompanied by a child because there are strict rules on the length of time that children can be held in immigration detention. Apparently, the word is getting out beyond Latin America as well,” she said.
