Trafficking in India remains a concern: US.
By Raif Karerat
The United States has expressed concern over the trafficking situation in India, saying the country does not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
“We do have series concerns about the trafficking situation in India. We absolutely share your concern about such appalling stories that we unfortunately do hear coming out of India,” Kari Johnstone, principal deputy director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in the State Department told U.S. lawmakers.
She went on to tell Congress that while “India does not fully comply with the minimum standards with the elimination of trafficking … it is making significant efforts to do so,” according to the Press Trust of India.
Furthermore, Indian government documents reviewed by Reuters show New Delhi has imposed restrictions over the past 16 months on Indian passports stamped with T-visas, which the U.S. gives to trafficking victims if they agree to testify against those who smuggled them.
Between July 2014 and March 2015, at least 20 passports of Indians stamped with T-visas were confiscated by authorities at Indian airports, preventing trafficking victims who returned home to collect their families from flying back to the United States, according to Jean Stockdale, a church worker who helps trafficking victims apply for the visas from her base in New Jersey.
While confiscation of T-visa stamped passports have ceased, Indians with T-visas are now facing a new set of hurdles.
According to rights advocates and T-visa holders, there are now long delays in renewing passports at Indian consulates, and they must also provide confidential information to the Indian government that they had previously submitted to the U.S. authorities, including details about who had trafficked them.
“We are deeply concerned by reports that some Indian nationals holding US T-visas have experienced travel restrictions,” the U.S. State Department released in response to an inquiry from Reuters. “The current status of the policy is unclear, and we continue to ask the government of India at high levels in Washington and in New Delhi to fully repeal the policy.”