Illegal immigrants from India Increasing at a High Rate
 When
it comes to illegal immigrants in the United States, many people believe that
Hispanics are growing the fastest percentage-wise. In terms of actual numbers
Hispanic illegal immigrants do outnumber other illegal 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 groups are Salvadorans and
Guatemalans all of which are considered Hispanic. Hispanics
illegal immigrants
receive media coverage often when raids occur throughout the nation or a border
death occurs. In addition, Hispanic illegal immigrants are usually made 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 they do not hold the title of the fastest growing in
terms of percentages. Since the year 2000 people from India make up the group
with the largest percentage increase in illegal immigration. 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 are 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 higher education and many can speak English fluently.
They end up working for high-tech companies doing highly skilled jobs like
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. India was 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 overstaying their visa they must return to their home country.
However, for many Indian illegal immigrants and immigrants in general it is a
risk worth taking. The enforcement of those who violate their federal
guest
worker program is not followed as closely as it should be. Immigration officials
and staff as it is are already stretched thin with the large number of cases
they are required to take on. They are trying to work as fast as they can
through the backlogs that 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
have 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. It just means that there will be a delay in being
caught, buying them some extra time in the United States. 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 advantages to the program include 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 there are some weaknesses or cracks in the tracking
system and these are being exploited by many. Given the choice of coming into
the United States illegally by crossing the border or coming in with a visa the
majority if not all would opt for the second choice. Many get frustrated trying
to obtain a visa for months and sometimes years and may not succeed in doing so.
Others are more fortunate and obtain a highly-coveted American visa. It is no
surprise that many decide to overstay their visa once expired or come with the
intention of overstaying in the first place.
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