Immigration agents should be accredited, suggests Punjab and Haryana High Court

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 10

When a youth was promised greener pastures in America, little did he realise that he would find himself in alien and arid lands while chasing dollar dreams. “America the complainant did reach, but South America instead of the United States,” asserted Justice Arun Monga of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Describing his ordeal reflected from the FIR as no less chilling and shuddering than a “goosebumps giving potboiler, Hollywood thriller action movie plot”, Justice Monga suggested the issuance of accreditation certificate to agents before uploading their list for facilitating background check.

ON THE ORDEAL of immigrants

Finally, the complainant was made to cross the Mexico-USA border, albeit illegally. And to what a welcome in the USA! The complainant was immediately arrested in California for illegally crossing the border from Mexico. —Justice Arun Monga, Punjab and Haryana High Court

Justice Monga was hearing a petition seeking pre-arrest bail in a cheating and criminal breach of trust case. Dismissing the petition as withdrawn, Justice Monga observed that the genuineness of allegations would be established during the probe, but the narrative of the ordeal brought out a “sordid tale on how unscrupulous immigration agents deceive gullible Indians who are aspirants of overseas jobs”.

Referring to the FIR, Justice Monga observed that the complainant was first made to board a hopping flight from Delhi to Sao Paulo in Brazil before being flown to various places, including Ecuador. He was made to travel by road to places in Colombia before sailing in a boat to Capurgana, where he was grouped with other illegal immigrants.

They trekked the thick forests of Panama and stayed there for five days before being made to stay for 24 days in an illegal camp. He was then made to travel to Nicaragua and Honduras before being taken to Mexico for entering the USA.

Justice Monga asserted: “Finally, the complainant was made to cross the Mexico-USA border, albeit illegally. And to what a welcome in the USA! The complainant was immediately arrested in California for illegally crossing the border from Mexico.”

For 10 months, he languished in a Georgian prison, but the dreaded fatal virus turned out to be blessing in disguise as jailed illegal immigrants were deported. Justice Monga asserted that the court could not be unmindful of its duty to “plug such inhumanitarian cases at the instance of the crooked, deceitful and immoral immigration agents, who rampantly indulge in human trafficking by treating an individual as no less than chattel. Sure enough, even when smuggled, chattel would be transported conceivably in better conditions than humans”.

Justice Monga also requested the state through its Home Secretary and Director General of Police to hold an administrative meeting to explore the possibility of preventing illegal immigration and human trafficking. Justice Monga suggested a regulatory body or nominating an officer in every district for issuing accreditation certificate. “Press publicity from time to time may also be given to the general public,” Justice Monga concluded.