Indians have topped the number of illegal immigrants from Asian countries caught at land, sea, and air checkpoints of the US since 2022.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the involvement of Canadian colleges and Indian entities in a money laundering case linked to the trafficking of Indians into the US from the borders of Canada. The probe stems from the death of an Indian family who died trying to illegally cross the Canada-US border in January 2022. The ED has alleged that accused individuals arranged admissions for Indians in Canadian colleges, but the students never joined the institutions after obtaining student visas. The ED has conducted searches at multiple locations in India and found that two entities were involved in facilitating admissions for Indians in foreign universities on a commission basis. The agency suspects that several Canadian colleges near the Canada-US border are involved in the trafficking racket.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating a complex network of agents and facilitators in India, Canada, and the US who assist Indians in illegally entering the US through fraudulent admissions to Canadian colleges. Over 8,500 financial transactions are under scrutiny by the ED in a case related to money laundering, stemming from a 2023 Gujarat Police crime branch FIR. The investigation includes international financial companies involved in remittances abroad, with the ED conducting 35 searches in the past year and seizing assets worth Rs 92 lakh. The issue has gained significant attention following the deportation of 104 Indians from the US on Wednesday. The investigation is linked to the tragic death of an Indian family in January 2022, who perished while attempting to cross the Canada-US border illegally. The ED has identified a network of agents and facilitators who manage and facilitate the stay, transportation, visa arrangements, and legal matters of illegal immigrants who gained admission to Canadian colleges through fraudulent means. The investigation has revealed that the fees paid to Canadian colleges were remitted back to individuals' accounts, with around 8,500 transactions identified between September 2021 and August 2024. The ED suspects that approximately 370 individuals have entered the US using this illegal immigration scheme. The agency has recorded statements from parents and guardians of students enrolled in Canadian colleges and continues its investigation.
Three Gujarat-based "illegal immigration" agents, who facilitated the family's ill-fated journey, were later arrested.
The suspected immigration scam came to light after a woman approached the Prantij police in Sabarkantha district with a complaint that her husband, Bharat Rabari, went incommunicado in February.
Some media reports also claimed that local agents had sent several such families to the United States via Canada and some of the families went missing during illegal border-crossing.
The bodies of four members of a family from Gujarat's Gandhinagar district who died of the extreme cold near the Canada-US border would not be brought back to India, their relatives said on Friday.
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