San Francisco:
After a strong protest lodged by India over the radio-tagging of Indian students, US immigration authorities had recently promised "good judgement and common sense" while handling the cases. But it seems the promise is not being kept.
Hundreds of Indian students who were enrolled at the Tri-Valley University in California are being investigated by the US Immigration officials. The university has been shut down for allegedly running a massive immigration racket. While some of these students were made to wear radio tags or ankle bracelets, others are being detained for interrogation.
One such student, who was detained for 15 days for allegedly being involved in the immigration fraud, contacted NDTV on his release and narrated the details of his horrific experience. He was very nervous to come on camera and did not wish to be named. "I want to expose the abuse of power but first I need to save myself," he said.
The 28-year-old student was picked up from his home by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities on January 19. What followed, he said, was a "nightmare."
The student says officials came to his home in search of his roommate, who happened to be away at work, and ended up taking him away and detaining him for two weeks. While other students were released in a day or two, he claims he was detained simply because authorities thought he had an "attitude problem as he was perhaps not respectful or submissive enough." He says he was told he "had dug his own grave."
Describing his time behind bars as a "journey to hell," he added that he was in a jail cell that is typical to what one sees in a Hollywood movie. He says he was "handcuffed and taken for questioning" and was not allowed to make any phone calls.
He was finally released on February 3 without any bond.
"My family will be hurt if they come to know about my hardships. I need time to recover from the trauma," he told NDTV.
The ICE had recently said that all visa holders will be treated fairly under the laws of the United States, with a full range of procedural protections. But this clearly was not the case in the incident narrated above.