68 Indians detained in Washington for allegedly crossing into US illegally

Sixty eight Indian nationals who allegedly tried to enter the US illegally near Seattle in the US state of Washington were taken into custody said the American immigration department.

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), at present 68 Indians are in custody at its contract detention center in Tacoma, said Virginia Kice, ICE's western regional spokesperson. While their arrest dates vary widely, majority of them were taken into custody this year and about half were arrested in the last 30 days, she said.

Of the 68, about half were detained in the last one month while they tried to sneak illegally into the US from across the border, said Satnam Singh Chahal, the director of US-based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) which obtained information from the ICE. Most of them hail from Punjab, he said.

When undocumented immigrants move through government-run detention centers in the US, it can take months before they find out if they'll be deported or allowed to stay in the country, Chahal said. During this long wait, many become frustrated, he said.