Column: The hypocrisy of the US government is exposed.
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By Sujeet Rajan
NEW YORK: Imagine this scenario: an undocumented Mexican woman, working as a cleaner in a restaurant in New York City, complains to the State Department that she has not been paid minimum wage as per law, that she is overworked, not paid the salary due to her. She leaves the employment of the restaurant. The State Department sends an agent to her, who takes down her complaint. The agent also speaks to her husband, based in Mexico, notes down his rancorous complaint against the employer of his wife.
A few months later, the State Department issues a T visa to the husband and two children of the undocumented worker who had lodged a complaint against the restaurant. A T visa is given usually to human trafficking victims and their immediate family members.
Two days after the husband and the two children board a flight to New York City, celebrate their coming together as a family again, and dine out thinking of the Green Card coming their way soon, the State Department swings into action, issues a warrant for the arrest of the restaurant owner. The US Marshals publicly arrest the restaurant owner, handcuff him, take him to a police station, strip search him, do cavity searches on him, take a DNA swab of him, then jail him with hardened criminals. He is let go after he pays a $250,000 bail bond. He may face years of jail time if found guilty in court.
Is it possible? No, you say? That half of the population of Mexico might be given T visas that way, and end up in America? You are indignant and concerned who would take care of the beaches in Acapulco for your next vacation? That no business owner in America would be treated this way? Worried that all Republicans would resign on Capitol Hill on this slimy backdoor Amnesty being granted by the Democrats, there would be no opposition to fight the government?
Ok, here’s another scenario: same situation, but instead of the undocumented Mexican worker, substitute her with an Indian worker on an H1B visa sponsored by a small business owner in New York City. Same procedure, same routine, same effect; culminating in the business owner in jail, released on bail, facing charges of exploitation. Same jubilant family reunion again for the H1B worker and his family.
Not possible? Why, because family reunification visa lines would dry up? The USCIS might go bankrupt because they don’t get any more H1B renewal fees? That the US government just don’t care about illegal immigrants or the exploited H1B workers? The Obama administration is more interested in deporting people than importing them? That making new jails might be the biggest private enterprise in the US this decade, to house the tens of thousands of employers who exploit workers, are caught, prosecuted, found guilty and jailed? You are thinking, like a smart entrepreneur would, of a new matrimonial website to link people waiting in line for the last 15 years for a family reunification visa with exploited H1B workers, to reduce the wait for that elusive Green Card, and sneak in through the route of political asylum?
Ok, if both the above scenarios are not possible, then ponder this one, because this really happened: a maid sponsored from India, Sangeeta Richard, complained to the State Department on non-payment of dues from her employer, Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General of India in New York. The maid worked for Khobragade from November of 2012 to June of 2013 at her house in New York City. Then she left service, and ‘disappeared’. Khobragade complained to the NYPD of the disappearance of the maid in June. In the meantime, the State Department deputed an agent to take down notes from the maid on her allegations against Khobragade, Notes were taken down on the allegations by the maid’s husband, based in Delhi. Last Tuesday, after the State Department issued T visas to the maid’s husband and their two children and they boarded a flight to New York City, to carve out a new life in America, a warrant was issued on Thursday, which resulted in the arrest of Khobragade. She was arrested on the streets of Manhattan when she went to leave her children to school, handcuffed, taken to a police station. She was strip searched, she was cavity searched. She was DNA swabbed. She was then thrown into jail with hardened criminals. Six hours later, she was released on bail of $250,000.
In an email to some of her colleagues, Khobragade wrote of the humiliation heaped on her, how she repeatedly broke down during the strip searches, the cavity searches. How she managed to regain composure thinking of not only her dignity, but the dignity of India.
The question to be asked is, if the US government does not have the courage or the inclination to arrest either the illegal workers who number more than 11 million in this country and charge them with breaking the laws of this country, or the courage, political and financial muscle to arrest the tens of thousands of business owners who exploit workers in this country and jail them for breaking labor and wage laws, how did they get the courage to arrest a diplomat from India?
There are no easy answers, but one thing is for sure: shame on America, shame on the Obama administration for jailing Khobragade, who should have been tried in a court of law, been the subject of a lawsuit, and not been violated, humiliated publicly.
Shame on the Obama administration for giving visas to the family of Richard, ensuring that even before Khobragade has been held guilty or not guilty in a court of law, they have decided that indeed Richard is a victim of human trafficking, and Khobragade guilty.
(Sujeet Rajan is the Editor-in-Chief of The American Bazaar)
To  contact the author, email to sujeetrajan@americanbazaaronline.com