ਅਮਰੀਕਨ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਨੇ 'ਗੈਰਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ' ਪਰਵਾਸ ਤੇ ਲਗਾਮ ਕੱਸਣ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਨੀਤੀਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ 1600 ਤੋਂ ਵੀ ਵੱਧ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਹਿਰਾਸਤ ਕੇਂਦਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ।
ਤਾਜ਼ਾ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਓਰੇਗੋਨ ਸੂਬੇ ਦੇ ਸ਼ੇਰੀਡਨ ਡਿਟੈਂਸ਼ਨ ਸੈਂਟਰ ਦੀ ਹੈ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਸਵਾ ਸੌ ਦੇ ਕਰੀਬ ਪ੍ਰਵਾਸੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਜ਼ਰਬੰਦ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਡੈਮੋਕਰੇਟ ਸਾਂਸਦਾਂ ਨੇ ਇਥੇ ਫਸੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੇ ਹਾਲਾਤ ਜਾਨਣ ਲਈ ਹਿਰਾਸਤ ਕੇਂਦਰ ਦਾ ਦੌਰਾ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਟਰੰਪ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦੀ ਇਸ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਲਈ ਸਖਤ ਨਿਖੇਧੀ ਵੀ ਕੀਤੀ।
ਇੱਕ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਮੁਤਾਬਿਕ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਵਾਸੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾਤਰ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬੋਲਦੇ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਹੈ ਜੋ ਭਾਰਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਘੱਟ-ਗਿਣਤੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਅੱਤਿਆਚਾਰ ਦੇ ਚਲਦਿਆਂ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਨਾਹ ਲੈਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ।
Read this story in English:
Indians are the largest group among the 123 detainees from 16 countries being held at a correctional facility in Oregon’s Yamhill Valley town of Sheridan.
According to local rights group APANO, the majority of them are South Asian, who speak primarily Hindi and Punjabi, and a few identified as Chinese.
The detainees are among the more than 1,600 people that are held in various federal prisons across the US following the Trump administration’s crackdown on ‘illegal’ immigration.
The immigrants seeking asylum, mainly from India, Mexico, Brazil and China, have now fears of prosecution under President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy launched in May 2018.
With the advent of the new policy, the US now prosecutes anyone trying to enter the country illegally, including asylum seekers.
But the policy has drawn intense national protests and anger while the administration continues to put immigrants in detention, with families being split up and children moved to other facilities.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has admitted taking a tough stance on immigration to strengthen the national security and to improve the ability of the immigrants to assimilate.
Four US senators Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer visited the Sheridan detention centre on Saturday.
The visit followed after the Democrats demanded an immediate permission to the detained individuals of the fundamental right to access legal services.
“The Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy is cruel and inhumane,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici.
Bonamici wrote on her blog post: “Through our Punjabi translator, we learned that these men were planning to request asylum because they faced severe religious persecution in India. Most are Sikh or Christian. Instead they were incarcerated in a federal prison.”
"They said they came to the United States for religious freedom, but they felt as if they were 'going crazy' because they are being confined in small cells for up to 22 hours a day," she said.
"This is a shameful hour in U.S. history," said Earl Blumenauer. "I don't care what your stance on immigration is, no one should favor ripping children out of their parents' arms ...."
The Sikh coalition in USA has criticised the U.S. government for this action. They tweeted: “The Sikh Coalition condemns Trump administration policies that tear children away from their families. We need an immigration system that treats people with fairness and dignity, not one that traffics in profiling and cruelty.”
Indians represent the fastest growing group of illegal residents with their number hitting half a million in 2014 with a 43% increase from 2009, according to a report by Pew Research Center.
Last year, the U.S deported 460 Indian illegal immigrants compared to 353 in 2016, with another 33 deported this year.
