The courts have consistently held at Mr. Singh does not have a legal basis to remain in the US.
A 39-year-old Indian Sikh man from Yuba City, California, who immigrated to the United States illegally twelve years ago, will be deported to India as the Donald Trump administration ramps up its actions against illegal immigrants.
Baljit Singh had crossed the border into Texas through Mexico. He married Kate, a US citizen, six years ago and have two children, 5-year-old Arjin and 3-year-old Sammy, Los Angeles Times reported.
According to the report, Singh’s attorney said he fled religious persecution in his home state Punjab, where as a Sikh, he feared for his life. The asylum case was earlier denied and Singh then filed an appeal in the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A spokesperson of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Lori Haley told the Los Angeles Times that over the last 11 years, Singh’s case has undergone “exhaustive review†at the different levels of the Department of Justice’s immigration court system.
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“The courts have consistently held at Mr. Singh does not have a legal basis to remain in the US,†she said.
Singh’s court-issued removal order became final in January 2016 and according to his attorney, he was allowed to stay in the US as long as he checked in with his immigration officer every six months.
Last week, the authorities detained Singh during a regular ICE check-in and on Tuesday he was released with an ankle monitor and asked to be prepared for deportation after 90 days.
“My husband is no criminal, he doesn’t do drugs. He works very hard building a little business down the street that used to be run down but he brought back to life with soap and wine barrels of geraniums, not to mention great customer service and coffee,†Baljit Singh’s wife Kate Singh said in a blog post.
“President Trump wants people off welfare. Taking away the sole provider is not a good start. The government has just inherited three more US citizens that will be needing a lot of assistance since their husband and father is gone and there is a wife who has no family to help out,†Kate said adding that she wants her husband back.
Singh can start the paperwork to return legally after he reached India and the process could take anywhere from six months to two years. If his application is rejected, he would have to wait 10 years before he can return.