Asylum seekers in US ‘denigrating’ India: Govt

After data emerged on more than 41,000 Indians having applied for asylum in the United States (US), the Ministry of External Affairs today told Parliament that asylum seekers ‘denigrate’ the nation and society to ‘obtain personal gain’. It added, being a democratic country, India provides avenues for everyone to redress their grievances lawfully.

Data from the US Department of Homeland Security Report ‘2023 Asylees Annual Flow Report’ released in October said 41,030 Indian applied for asylum in the 2023.

Answering Kapil Sibal's question in the Rajya Sabha, the MEA said: “The Government of India believes asylum seekers, while applying for asylum to a foreign government, denigrate the nation and society to obtain personal gains despite the fact that India, being a democratic country, provides avenues for everyone to redress their grievances lawfully”.

The US report in October had explained that asylum seeking applicants must, among other requirements, meet the definition of a ‘refugee’. The US law cited in the Homeland security report said “A ‘refugee’ is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”.

The MEA in its response in Rajya Sabha said the accurate data regarding the number of asylum applications and the actual number of people granted asylum or the grounds on which asylum is sought or granted is not available, as the foreign governments concerned cite inability to share such data due to privacy and data protection laws.

Meanwhile, the US Homeland report had numbers to show a dramatic surge in people seeking asylum in the US in the past three years. The data showed the number asylum applications from Indians soared by almost 855 per cent.

In all 4,330 Indians applied for asylum in the 2021 and in the year 2023 the number jumped to 41,330 applications.

There are two categories of asylum seekers, one called the affirmative asylum seekers and others called the ‘defensive’ asylum seekers.

The US Homeland Security says “affirmative applicants initiate their own asylum applications”. The ‘defensive’ asylum applicants are those who have been ordered to deported by an immigration judge, but can apply to ‘defend’ their cases. Another category of defensive asylum applicants consists of people who are unlawfully present, are in violation of their status, or were apprehended while attempting to enter the US, the report explains.

In 2023, Indians ranked as the fifth-largest group for ‘defensive’ asylum and the seventh-largest for ‘affirmative’ applications.

The data, also revealed that 5,340 Indians were granted asylum in last year. This includes 2,710 affirmative cases and 2,630 defensive cases.