NEW DELHI – India has ‘very strongly’ taken up with the US, the deportation of 14 students from San Francisco, even as the two California-based universities that a US agency said were “under scrutiny” claimed they were not blacklisted by American authorities, the reason cited to deport the students.
“We have taken up the deportation of Indian students admitted in SVU, San Jose and NPU, Fremont, with the US State Department. Their response is awaited,” external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the matter has been raised very strongly with US authorities in both Delhi and Washington.
Air India had on Sunday night stopped 19 Indian students heading to the two universities from boarding a flight to San Francisco, citing a communication from the US Customs and Border Protection Agency which said that 14 other Indian students were earlier deported as these universities are”under scrutiny”.
In the meanwhile, the two universities – Silicon Valley University and Northwestern Polytechnic University – said they have been told by the US Customs and Border Protection agency that they have not been blacklisted by the US Government or any of its agencies. The two universities said that there has been increased security and questioning at the port of entry in view of the recent terrorist attacks in the country, suggesting that could be the reason for the deportation.
“The students have been deported on the advise of the US Immigration Authority … . Air India is duty bound to follow their advise,” Swarup said.
We have taken up deportation of Indian students admitted in SVU San Jose and NPU Freemont with US State Deptt. Their response is awaited.
Air India, which had barred the students from boarding the flight to San Francisco at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, said it had taken the action so the students are not “inconvenienced”. The airline has decided not to allow on its flights students headed to these two universities until it gets clearance from Air India’s US office for their travel.
“Air India received communication on December 19, 2015 from the US Customs and Border Protection agency that two universities namely Silicon Valley University, San Jose, California and North Western Polytechnic College, Fremont, CA are under scrutiny and students who arrived into San Francisco were not allowed to enter the US and were deported back to India”, an Air India statement had said.
