US: 52 Indians Seeking Asylum Held at Oregon Detention Centre For Illegal Migration

Oregon, June 20: At least 52 Indians, mostly Sikh, have been detained at the Oregon detention centre for illegal migration to the United States. The group, according to the reports, part of a large contingent of illegal immigrants seeking asylum. The Indians form the largest group of detainees in the total 123 illegal immigrants being held at a facility in Sheridan.

"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," Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici wrote on her blog post.

"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," the Congresswoman said, PTI reported. During their detention, the Indian detainees pointed out that the other prisoners get more than out of prison that they do.

Bonamici said that most of the detainees have been seeking asylum due to the violence or persecution they may suffer at their homelands.

"Several had travelled to the border with a wife and a child or children; none knew where their family members are. This is a shameful hour in US history. I don't care what your stance on immigration is, no one should favour ripping children out of their parents' arms …." Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer said.

He added that President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have made strict laws with the "anti-immigrant, xenophobic agenda" in the government's "zero tolerance" policy on immigration. "The administration is criminalising families who are fleeing abuse and violence and separating children as ICE detains or deports their parents," he said in a statement.