In a significant effort to tackle illegal immigration, the IGI Airport Police have arrested 108 immigration agents in the first half of 2024. This move is part of a broader strategy to target the roots of the illegal immigration network, rather than just apprehending passengers. A recent case at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport involving a 24-year-old man pretending to be an elderly Sikh highlights the sophisticated methods used by these networks.
The crackdown, which includes revisiting old cases and apprehending agents nationwide, has exposed how visa-on-arrival schemes are exploited to facilitate illegal immigration. The number of arrests this year has doubled compared to the same period in 2023, with arrests made across various states including Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.
Investigations have revealed various methods employed by agents, such as creating fake visas, departure stamps, and identities. In 2024 alone, 24 agents have been caught sending passengers with similar facial features on someone else's passport. Additionally, agents exploit visa-on-arrival schemes to send passengers to countries like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, from where they take the 'donkey route' through Central America to the US border.
The scale of the issue is immense, with a record 96,917 Indians caught trying to cross into the US in 2023, and many more likely succeeding. Indians now constitute the third-largest illegal immigrant population in the US, with over 725,000 estimated to be living there illegally. The crackdown on immigration agents aims to dismantle the networks that sell dangerous dreams of illegal immigration, potentially saving many lives.
