Illegal immigrants from India Increasing at a High Rate
 When
it comes to illegal immigration in the United States, Hispanic illegal immigrants
largely outnumber other undocumented immigrants. The estimated
number of illegal immigrants in the United States is about 12 million.
Mexicans
make up nearly 7 million and the next largest group of Hispanics are Salvadorans and
Guatemalans. Hispanic illegal immigrants often
receive media coverage, especially when immigration raids occur or an immigrant
is believe to die while crossing the border into the United States. In addition, Hispanic illegal immigrants usually
remain the
focus of immigration debates. Many take minimum wage jobs and sometimes even
work two jobs. While there is no denying that Hispanics come to the United
States in large numbers, individuals from India actually make up the group with
the largest percentage increase in illegal immigration since 2000. In fact, it
is estimated that in 2000 there was
about 120,000 illegal immigrant Indians. That number grew to about 270,000 in
2006 which represents an increase of 125%. Indian illegal immigrants compared to
other immigrants tend to be less obvious to spot. Many Indians get into the U.S. with
an H-1B Visa so they do not have cross the
border illegally. Indian illegal
immigrants tend to have attained a higher level of education that other illegal
immigrants in the United States. In addition, many immigrants from India can speak English fluently.
Immigrants from India often work for high-tech companies and perform highly
skilled jobs such as
engineering and computer programming.
Due to the quality of India’s workforce it is no surprise that they are being
issued a high number of temporary work visas. During the 2005 fiscal year,
Indians were granted nearly 195,000 work visas that allowed them to come to the
United States. About 100,000 of these visas were H-1B visas,
marking India as the
country with the greatest number of temporary work visas granted. Mexico was
second on the list with nearly 170,000 work visas. It was followed by the United
Kingdom with slightly more than 155,000 work visas. Due to the many
opportunities for advancement in the U.S., especially for those with specialized
skills, some visa holders purposely overstay their visa. They are aware that if
they are caught violating the terms of their visa they may face deportation.
However, for many illegal immigrants it is a
risk worth taking. Enforcement of immigration law for immigrants who violate the federal
guest
worker program is not known to be strictly carried out. Immigration officials
and staff already face a large number of cases, and they are often understaffed.
In fact, backlogs for immigration documents can stretch anywhere from months to years. One board
member of the Houston South Asian Chamber of Commerce said that there was no
efficient way of tracking down individuals participating in the visa program who
are actually returning to their homeland once their term expires. An
unidentified U.S. Department of Homeland Security official also expressed a
similar concern. The official stated that there was no strong method of keeping
track of guest workers in the United States.
Immigrants who overstay their visa usually have a higher degree of education and
greater incomes than those who cross the American
border illegally. Due to
the current enforcement levels it does not mean that an individual who overstays
their visa will not be caught. However, most commonly, individuals who overstay
their visa will often face a delay in being
caught, if they are caught at all. Therefore, overstaying a visa offers an
incentive because it allows an immigrant to remain longer in the United States.
Nonetheless, the Department of
Homeland Security is working on improving their current tracking system. They
have introduced the US-VISIT or United States Visitor and Immigrant Status
Indicator Technology program. The program includes the ability
to collect travel and biographic information. In addition, biometric information
like fingerprints and photographs can also be collected. Another change
introduced by the American government has been the introduction of more
high-tech passports. Still many weaknesses in the tracking
system remain. For many who desire to permanently live in the United States,
they first gain legal entry into the United States and then overstay the
conditions of their visa. Crossing the border
to enter the country illegally poses a much greater risk of detection and harm.
However, many get frustrated in trying
to obtain a visa, as it often takes months and sometimes years. Moreover, may
individuals do not qualify for any type of visa and therefore decide to gain
admittance to the United States illegally.
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