Washington: All the 130 foreign students, including 129 Indians who were detained for enrolling in a fake university, were aware that they were committing a crime to fraudulently remain in the US, the State Department has said, days after India issued a demarche to the American Embassy in New Delhi.
The foreign students were arrested last week by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for enrolling at the University of Farmington allegedly to remain in America. The fake university was set up by the DHS’s investigating unit in Greater Detroit area to bust the ‘pay-and-stay’ racket.
“All participants in this scheme knew that the University of Farmington had no instructors or classes (neither on-line nor in-person) and were aware they were committing a crime in an attempt to fraudulently remain in the United States,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement, Monday.
The State Department’s response came after India issued Saturday a demarche to the American Embassy in New Delhi, expressing its concern over the detention of Indian students and sought immediate consular access to them.
Eight of the individuals who ran this racket have been arrested and are either Indian citizen or Indian American. However, they have pleaded ‘not guilty’ before a federal court in Michigan.
One of them Phanideep Karnati, 35, who is on H-1B visa and lives in Louisville, Kentucky, was released Monday on a bond of USD 10,000.
The seven others – Barath Kakireddy, Suresh Kandala, Prem Rampeesa, Santosh Sama, Avinash Thakkallapally, Aswanth Nune, and Naveen Prathipati – consented to their continued detention before the judge, where they were produced along with Karnati days after their arrest.
They were arrested last Monday from Detroit, Florida and Virginia in a nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation.
Meanwhile, support has been building for the Indian students. The Indian Embassy here has made an aggressive effort to reach out to these students and, with the help of the community leaders, is providing them with legal help.
Eminent Indian-Americans and some media outlets have also questioned the modus operandi of the US government in the detention of Indians in the ‘pay-and-stay’ scam and have said ‘trapping of innocent students’ is a ‘crime, illegal and immoral’.
The Indian embassy has also opened a 24/7 hotline to assist the 129 students and has also appointed a nodal officer to help them.
PTI