According to US Border Patrol data, over 14,000 Indians were arrested on the Canadian border in the year ending September 30, 2022, a staggering increase from previous years. An incident in 2022 underscores the need for effective immigration policies and increased awareness about the risks associated with illegal border crossings.

On a bitterly cold January night in 2022, Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, and their two young children embarked on a perilous journey to cross the US-Canada border, seeking a better life.

Their dreams, however, were cruelly cut short. The family of four succumbed to the freezing temperatures, their bodies found in a snowy field, a heartbreaking testament to the human cost of illegal immigration.

As per a report on AP, the Patels’ story began in Dingucha, a small village in western India’s Gujarat state. Like many others, they were lured by the promise of a brighter future in the West. The village, once thriving, now has blocks of vacant homes, as many residents have left in search of greener pastures. The Patel family, comprising schoolteachers Jagdish and Vaishaliben, and their children, Vihangi (11) and Dharmik (3), were driven by the desire for economic prosperity.

Their journey was facilitated by Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, a driver recruited by Patel. The two men, accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation, are set to stand trial on charges related to human smuggling.

On the fateful night, the Patels, along with seven other Indian migrants, attempted to cross the border on foot, braving temperatures as low as -36°F (-38°C). The group, poorly equipped for the harsh conditions, became separated in the darkness. While seven survivors were eventually rescued, the Patel family perished, their bodies discovered the next morning.

The incident highlights the growing issue of illegal immigration from India, driven by economic aspirations and facilitated by smuggling networks.

Experts point to a combination of factors contributing to this trend, including political repression, a dysfunctional US immigration system, and economic inequality.

Satveer Chaudhary, a Minneapolis-based immigration attorney, notes that smugglers often target vulnerable individuals, charging exorbitant fees and exploiting their desperation.

As the trial of Patel and Shand begins, the focus shifts to the human cost of illegal immigration. The Patel family’s tragic fate serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers and uncertainties faced by those seeking a better life.

Hemant Shah, an Indian-born businessman who organized a virtual prayer service for the Patels, lamented the greed that drove the smuggling operation, stating, “There was no humanity.”

Donald Trump is poised to make a significant impact on immigration policies from day one of his presidency, with plans to unleash a flurry of executive actions aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement and dismantling key Biden-era legal entry programs. This sweeping effort will be spearheaded by Tom Homan, Trump’s newly appointed “border czar,” alongside other prominent Republican immigration hardliners.

As the global community grapples with the complexities of migration, the memory of the Patel family serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating consequences of desperation and exploitation.
 

Illegal immigration from Canada to the United States has seen a sharp rise among people of Indian origin, US border patrol data shows.

While the pipeline of illegal immigration from India has existed for a long time, it has increased significantly in the last few years, reports American news agency Associated Press.

According to the US border patrol data cited in the report, more than 14,000 Indians have been arrested along the US-Canada border in the year ending September 30 – a staggering 10-fold rise in just two years. The arrests of persons of Indian origin amounted to 60 per cent of all arrests along the US-Canada border.

According to data revealed by the Pew Research Center, it is estimated that by 2022, there were already more than 725,000 Indians living illegally in the US –  behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

While greater research and analysis is required to understand why there is such a surge in illegal immigration from Canada to the US, it is understood that a combination of factors contribute to this, including political repression, a rise in Khalistan extremism in Canada which target Indians, a dysfunctional US immigration system, extremely long waits for visas and permits under the existing legal immigration system, and economic inequality.

But there is also a human rights angle – An incident in 2022 underscores the urgent need for effective immigration policies and increased awareness about the risks associated with illegal border crossings.

On a bitterly cold January night in 2022, Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, and their two young children embarked on a perilous journey to cross the US-Canada border, seeking a better life.

Their dreams, however, were cruelly cut short. The family of four succumbed to the freezing temperatures, their bodies found in a snowy field, a heartbreaking testament to the human cost of illegal immigration.

The Patels’ story began in Dingucha, a small village in western India’s Gujarat state. Like many others, they were lured by the promise of a brighter future in the West. The village, once thriving, now has blocks of vacant homes, as many residents have left in search of greener pastures. The Patel family, comprising schoolteachers Jagdish and Vaishaliben, and their children, Vihangi (11) and Dharmik (3), were driven by the desire for economic prosperity.

Their journey was facilitated by Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, a driver recruited by Patel. The two men, accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation, are set to stand trial on charges related to human smuggling.

On the fateful night, the Patels, along with seven other Indian migrants, attempted to cross the border on foot, braving temperatures as low as -36 degrees F (-38 degrees Celsius). The group, poorly equipped for the harsh conditions, became separated in the darkness. While seven survivors were eventually rescued, the Patel family perished, their bodies discovered the next morning.

The incident highlights the growing issue of illegal immigration from India, driven by economic aspirations and facilitated by smuggling networks.

Satveer Chaudhary, a Minneapolis-based immigration attorney, notes that smugglers often target vulnerable individuals, charging exorbitant fees and exploiting their desperation.

As the trial of Patel and Shand begins, the focus shifts to the human cost of illegal immigration. The Patel family’s tragic fate serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers and uncertainties faced by those seeking a better life.

Hemant Shah, an Indian-born businessman who organized a virtual prayer service for the Patels, lamented the greed that drove the smuggling operation, stating, “There was no humanity.”

Donald Trump is poised to make a significant impact on immigration policies from day one of his presidency, with plans to unleash a flurry of executive actions aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement and dismantling key Biden-era legal entry programs. This sweeping effort will be spearheaded by Tom Homan, Trump’s newly appointed “border czar,” alongside other prominent Republican immigration hardliners.

As the global community grapples with the complexities of migration, the memory of the Patel family serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating consequences of desperation and exploitation.
 

Over the previous decade, UAE accepted over 2,500 tonne of smuggled gold. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Gold smuggling out of Africa, mainly to the United Arab Emirates, has surged over the last decade, with hundreds of tonnes of gold worth tens of billions of dollars illegally leaving the continent every year, according to a report published on May 30

Analysis by Swissaid, an organisation that focuses on development aid and advocacy, found that a total of 435 tonnes of gold, mostly mined by small-scale miners and worth more than $30 billion, was smuggled out of Africa in 2022. Swissaid said the UAE was the main destination for Africa’s smuggled gold and took in 405 tonnes in 2022. Over the previous decade, UAE accepted more than 2,500 tonnes of smuggled gold with a total value of over $115 billion, it said.

Asked to comment on the findings, a UAE official said the country had taken significant steps to address concerns about gold smuggling and implemented new regulations on gold and other precious metals.

The scale of the flow underscores how small scale, or artisanal, mining has mushroomed into an industry involving millions of people producing volumes of gold on a par with or even bigger than industrial mining.

In 2019, a Reuters investigation found that billions of dollars’ worth of gold was being smuggled out of Africa every year through the UAE, which served a gateway to markets in Europe, the U.S. and beyond.

Aside from the loss in tax revenues, experts and governments have warned that smuggling on this scale indicates a vast parallel illicit economy vulnerable to potential money laundering, terrorist finance and sanctions evasion.

Marc Ummel, commodities lead at Swissaid and one of the authors of the report, said the UAE contributes to gold laundering because large quantities of smuggled gold acquire a legal existence by transiting through the UAE.

Discrepancies

For its analysis, Swissaid compared total gold exports from all African countries with gold imports into non-African countries. The organisation filled gaps in UN Comtrade data with individual country statistics and identified errors by comparing the data with figures reported by trade associations and speaking with governments and refineries.

These discrepancies between declared exports and declared imports do not exist for Switzerland and India, the other two major gold importing countries for African gold.

The Swissaid report found that there were 12 countries in Africa involved in smuggling 20 tonnes or more per year.

In response to accusations that it was not doing enough to enforce regulations on the sector, a UAE Ministry of Economy spokesperson said the UAE cannot be held accountable for other government’s export records. “Only our own, where we have sophisticated technologies and systems to track and verify the data.”

With the gold price having doubled since 2009, the number of people turning to artisanal mining has surged. Swissaid estimates that artisanal and small-scale gold mining in African countries produced between 443 and 596 tonnes of gold in 2022. Of this, more than 70% is not declared. By comparison, industrial miners have produced around 500 tonnes of gold a year.

The report found that the majority of African gold imported into the UAE each year comes from informal artisanal and small-scale mining. These methods provide a livelihood to millions of Africans but often come at a high cost to local communities and the environment.

“There’s a certain hypocrisy with some of the Swiss refineries,” said Mr. Ummel. “They don’t want to source African artisanal gold directly but at the same time import very high quantities of gold from the UAE, which is the main hub for African artisanal gold.”

Aizawl:

Assam Rifles and Mizoram Police in a joint operation have seized heroin valued at Rs 8.43 crore from Champhai district, an official said on Friday.

Assam Rifles sources said that acting on a tip-off, the joint team of para-military troopers and Mizoram police personnel seized the heroin on Thursday night from an abandoned car at Ngur village in Mizoram’s Champhai district, which is one of the six districts shared borders with Myanmar and the main corridor drugs smuggling.

The contraband was smuggled from Myanmar and was to be supplied to other states, a source said.

No arrest, however, was made in connection with the seizure.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)