HOW SHOULD IMMIGRATION BE PUNISHED IN THE UNITED STATES AND INDIA?

This article is written by Chitrankshi, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

ABSTRACT:

This article is about illegal or undocumented immigration in India and the United States. It talks about its effects on these countries, respectively, and what are the measures taken by the government of both of these countries to tackle this problem. Illegal immigration affects the population of the concerned countries in many undesirable ways, affecting its education and overall living conditions’ too. But even after, number of demerits, it still has some bright sides too. Proper control and management of such illegal immigrants require a strong governmental base and policies. There is a lot of difference between India and U.S, when it comes to this topic, as both these countries have different laws and techniques. However, overall concerns of both remain same.

PREFACE:

What is illegal immigration?

Illegal immigration is basically the migration (moving from one country to another) of people into a country that violates or goes against the immigration laws of that particular country or the residence kept continued in that country without having any legal right to do that. 

Consequences of illegal immigration:

~economic impact- surprisingly, illegal immigrants can have both negative and positive impacts, depending on certain factors. They act as a source of cheap labour and help in boosting economic growth. 

~social impact- they can strain social social services like schools and hospitals and they also bring certain cultural changes.

~security impact- they pose a grave threat to the security as they are very likely to be involved in crime and terrorism. 

In India:

The national security of india faces grave illegal migration threats from countries like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. After getting independence, India has received many illegal immigrants from many countries like Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. Some causes behind this migration were religious persecution, socio-economic conditions, political violence, etc.

Though the government does not release official figures on the number of illegal immigrants in the country, it ranges from some millions to tens of millions.

There are many threats to India due to illegal immigration, some of them are:

a) disturbance to law and order: 

the illegal immigrants engage in anti-national and illegal activities and bring danger to the rule of law and integrity of the country.  Fraud identity cards, documents are also serious challenges for proving illegal immigration. 

b) rise of militancy: 

Continue attacks against the Muslim communities as illegal migrants gave way to radicalisation among some sections of the Muslim community in Assam.

c)changing demographics: 

Mainly, the illegal migrants have caused a change in the demographics in many north-eastern states. And this change is the main reason behind the rising tension between the indigenous communities and migrants. 

d)arms smuggling:

Illegal migration causes smuggling of arms into the country and also proves to be a support to militants and other extremist groups. Their example can be seen on the Myanmar border and in Jammu and Kashmir.

e) stress on law and order:

Most of the illegal migrants settle in the metro cities and cause a rise in crimes, law and order issues, illegal occupations including prostitution, etc. 

f) clash of interests:

It causes huge impact on the interests of local populations of the areas that face large scale illegal immigration. 

g) political instability:

The leaders start mobilising the perception of the citizens against the migrants to achieve political power. 

h) human trafficking:

Illegal immigration has increased the rate of women trafficking and human smuggling, especially across the borders. 

Steps taken by the government:

The Central government has given instructions to the state governments and the union territory administrations to sensitise and train the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take appropriate steps proper identification of illegal immigrants. Instructions to tackle the issue of overstay and illegal migration of the foreigners have also been issued.

Existing legal laws and compositions:

The Section 4 of The Passport (entry into India) Act, 1920:

This act allows the Indian government to make rules that require the people entering in India to be in possession of their passports. 

This acts also grants the government that power through which it can remove any such person from India who has entered the country without a valid passport.

The Section 14 and Section 14(b) of The Foreigners act, 1946:

It is a replacement to the foreigners act, 1940 and gives wide scoped powers to help in dealing with all the foreigners. 

This act empowers the government to take those steps that are necessary in prevention of illegal migration including the use of force. 

The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court upheld a concept which says that the ‘burden of proof’ lies with the person and not with the authorities, this concept was given by this act and it is still applicable in all the states and union territories. 

This act made the government to establish tribunals which would have powers similar to the powers of a civil court.

The recent amendments of 2019 to the foreigners (tribunals) order, 1964 empowered the district magistrates in all the states and union territories to set up such tribunals in India that decide that whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not. 

The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939:

Registration under Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) is a compulsory-requirement under which all the foreign nationals, except the overseas citizens of India, who visit India on a long-term visa (more than 180 days) are required to do a registration of themselves with a registration officer within fourteen days of their arrival in India. 

Nationals from Pakistan visiting India are required to register within 24 hours of their arrival no matter whatever the duration of their stay is. 

The Citizenship Act. 1955:

It consists of the acquisition and determination of the Indian citizenship.

The Constitution also provides citizenship rights for non-resident Indians, overseas citizens of India and the people of Indian origin. 

Detection and deportation of illegal immigrants from Rakhine State, who are also known as the Rohingyas is a continuous process. It is hence very important to identify such illegal immigrants and keep a close watch on their activities. For the prevention of any kind of unwanted harmful activity. 

Below are some of the challenges or problems which India faces while dealing with the issue of illegal immigration:

~the India-Bangladesh border is porous which makes it difficult to control illegal immigration.

~there is no national ID system which again makes it more difficult to track the illegal immigrants.

~there is lack of cooperation from Bangladesh which makes it tough to deport illegal immigrants.

~the enforcement cost is high which makes it difficult to control illegal immigration effectively.

In the United States:

According to research, there were 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, in the year 2017. Majority of them are from from Mexico, Central America and South America. They are also known as illegal aliens and are those foreign-born people who do not have a valid visa any other immigration documentation as they entered the U.S without any checking and inspection and stayed longer than is permitted by their temporary visa or it may also be a case that they violated the terms under which they were admitted. 

There are various reasons behind this, like searching for better economic opportunities, escaping from political unrest or reunion with family members. 

Some argue that these undocumented immigrants bring a drain in the economy and take jobs away from the America citizens. While others say that they contribute to the economy and do those jobs which the Americans are unwilling to do. 

The U.S government has adopted various measures to address the issue of undocumented immigration including border enforcement, detention and deportation of those individuals. The government also discourages the employers to hire such undocumented workers. There are also established agencies namely the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enforce immigration laws.

~deportation- these unauthorized immigrants caught by the the government may be deported and forced to leave the country and not be allowed to return.

~fines- such undocumented immigrants caught working in the U.S. without any proper authorisation are required to pay a fine.  The amount of the fine varies and depends upon the circumstances of the case. 

~imprisonment- some individuals who are caught are also imprisoned. Again, the length of the imprisonment depends upon the circumstances of the case.

~worksite enforcement- the government of the U.S. also enforces immigration laws at the worksites. Such employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants are fined or/and imprisoned.

Laws regarding illegal immigration in the U.S:

1. Immigration and nationality act (INA) 1952: this acts as a foundation for immigration law in the U.S. It outlines the criteria for admission, entry and removal of foreign nationals. It has been amended several times. 
2. Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) 1986: this act made it unlawful to knowingly or unknowingly employ unauthorised immigrants has imposes penalties for such employers.
3. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) 1996: this act expanded the grounds for deportation and made it tougher for the illegal immigrants to obtain legal status. 
4. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): this is an immigration policy which was established by an executive action in 2012. This works in providing temporary relief from deportation and allows work for eligible immigrants who were brought to the U.S as children (dreamers) but it does not pave a way for citizenship. 
5. Secure Fence Act 2006: this started the construction of almost 700 miles of fencing along the U.S-Mexico border and additional technology and personnel to enhance the security.
6. Border Security Act 2002: this authorizes additional funding for border security and enforcement measures. 

CONCLUSION:

Illegal immigration has always been a complex issue and is being debated since since many years. Many factors contribute to it including economic hardship, political persecution, natural reasons, etc. it has both disadvantages and advantages (them being few). Though the governments of both the countries are trying their best, it will still continue to be a challenge for many coming years.

REFERENCES:

Ojp.gov

Dshs.wa.gov

Pewresearch.org

Justice.gov

Law.cornell.edu

Statista.com

Brookings.edu

Prageru.com

Pib.gov.in

Prsindia.org

Thelogicalindian.com

Mha.gov.in

Drishtiias.com

Unacademy.com

The INSIGHTSIAS