The rising number of Indian walk-ins and asylum-seekers in the US and the UK has brought the spotlight on the immigration systems in these countries that are already overburdened by the number of cases and pendency in clearing the backlog. Result: even though few are granted asylum or other stay permits, removal proceedings can drag on indefinitely, allowing migrants to stay put.
UK data reviewed by The Indian Express shows that Indians stand the least chance (6-9%) of getting relief among the top 15 asylum seekers by nationality (see chart) — behind China (18-24%), Pakistan (53-55%) and Iran (77-86%). During 2019-2023, less than 300 Indians were granted asylum or “leave to remain” (those who do not qualify for refugee status but are permitted to stay for various reasons) in the UK.
Data on UK asylum claims.
In 2023, the UK managed to reduce its asylum backlog by 28% but over 95,000 applications still awaited an initial decision last December — of these, around 61% had waited for more than six months.
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When asylum is denied by the UK Home Office, the applicant can approach the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) which, in 2023, took 11 months on average to decide on an appeal. The next step is to knock at the Upper Tribunal’s doors. If all fails, an asylum applicant can explore the scope of a judicial review.
In the US, one can seek asylum either affirmatively or defensively. In the first case, an asylum seeker applies to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The latter is considered for a person facing removal proceedings before a judge of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
While the number of Indians granted asylum defensively in the US has increased yearly since 2018 (see chart), the success rate remains below 15%. Massive backlogs at immigration courts, however, delay the removal process. The number of pending cases involving Indian nationals jumped from 10,851 in 2017 to 32,479 in 2022 and then to 53,457 in 2023. Overall, nearly 8 lakh defensive asylum seekers were waiting for hearings before immigration judges by the end of 2022.
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“The legal asylum route in the US is grinding but the length of the legal process gives enough time to migrants entering from Canada to make more money in one of the most vibrant economies of the world. From time to time, the US does announce amnesty for illegal migrants and the US business lobby loves paperless workers. They exert pressure on immigration not to deport illegals,” said political scientist Shinder Purewal, who served as a Citizenship Judge of British Columbia in Canada.
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Data on asylum, border encounters in the US.
Sending asylum-seekers back is anyway a diplomatic tightrope walk, particularly when two countries do not have an agreement to that effect. A pushback is even trickier when asylum-seekers enter from a third country that has no reason to take foreign nationals back. In the process, over 7 lakh unauthorised Indians have emerged as the third-largest group of undocumented immigrants in the US after Mexico and El Salvador in 2021, according to a Pew Research Center report.
Unlike in the US, access to UK visas has become easier for Indians since Brexit, pointed out Professor Nando Sigona, Chair of International Migration and Forced Displacement at the University of Birmingham. “Last year alone, there were roughly 150,000 Indian students at UK universities and hundreds of thousands of work and family visas were issued. Those who apply for asylum are a tiny minority and the majority of them may likely have travelled to the UK on a regular visa,” he said.
Yet, the fact that many are still using Canada visas to reach the UK in transit, says an immigration consultant, is self-explanatory: They are unlikely to qualify for a UK student or tourist visa.
A 2022 report by Washington DC-based Migration Policy Institute attributed the rise in unauthorised arrivals of Indians primarily “to growing religious and political persecution in India against non-Hindus” and “the lack of domestic economic opportunities”.
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But Professor Devesh Kapur, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, said, “If it was persecution, we would expect Muslims, SCs, STs and people from India’s north-east region. Instead, the immigrants are largely from Punjab-Haryana and Gujarat where they believe that once they get in, their networks (in the diaspora) will help them settle in.”
According to the immigration consultant, these migrants are “mostly young” and “ready to gamble” for a better life. “They are from fairly well-to-do families — usually the landed gentry — but not very well-educated,” he said.
