Singh allegedly fled to the US fearing religious persecution in India
An Indian man, who illegally immigrated to the United States in 1998, was taken into custody by federal agents on Mondayafter he lost an appeal over a deportation order.
The 46-year-old Gurmukh Singh who worked as a taxi driver hails from Punjab. He allegedly fled to the US fearing religious persecution in India. He is accused of having illegally migrated to the United States without a visa through the US-Mexico border, AFP reported.
Singh later married an American citizen and has two daughters. He applied for asylum, citing religious persecution but failed to pursue the case properly and was ordered to be deported, the news agency quoted his family and lawyer.
According to the report, the deportation case resurfaced after Singh applied for a residency visa in 2012, citing his new status after the marriage in 2010. He was arrested and jailed for nearly five months and was released after rights activists posted his bail. He had been checking with Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the office of Immigration regularly in the past several years and his case has been going through appeals process.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Singh’s request to repeal the deportation order on Monday and he was detained subsequently.
“We are completely devastated. This has completely broken us apart, emotionally and physically,” Singh’s daughter Manpreet told AFP.
“Watching him emotionally break down is probably the last thing any daughter wants to see,” she said adding that her father has no criminal record and always paid taxes.
An ICE spokeswoman, Lori Haley told the news agency that Singh’s case had undergone exhaustive review at all levels of the United States legal system.
“All those in violation of our nation’s immigration laws may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States,” she said.