Shocker! 90 South Asian Indians Found in Oklahoma among Central American Aliens

By Joe Guzzardi
July 21, 2014

When Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin recently toured the Fort Sill holding facility where the federal government sent 1,200 aliens, she got a big surprise. Among the illegal immigrants, allegedly from Central America, Fallin learned that there were also 90 South Asian Indians as well as others from South America. At the same time, Fallin got another dose of bad news. Although the Department of Health and Human Services promised her that the aliens would be detained for no more than 120 days, she’s been advised that they could stay much longer.

The presence of other than Central Americans in border surge exposes one of many lies that the White House has shamelessly told Americans.

First, despite repeated references to the aliens as “unaccompanied children,” significant numbers are neither unaccompanied nor children. Many are, as Governor Fallin attested, juvenile teenagers.  The Department of Homeland Security estimates that males between 15-17 years of age comprise 47 percent of all unaccompanied minors who are other than Mexican (OTM). Nearly thirty percent of all minors are age 10-14. A high percentage of the minors are traveling with an adult female, most likely their mothers.

In interviews with the aliens, the border patrol also learned that overwhelmingly the children have family members in the U.S., many of them living here illegally. If a parent or legal guardian resides in the U.S., federal law excludes them from being designated as unaccompanied minors. Another sub-section of so-called children are gang members who, while technically minors, have come to the U.S to intentionally pursue a life of crime.

Second, news accounts have tediously advanced the premise that a 2008 George W. Bush-era law, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act, provides the loophole for the Central American invasion. But the law was a Democratic amendment which California Senator Dianne Feinstein and then-Delaware Senator Joe Biden added to President Clinton’s seemingly innocuous anti-human-trafficking law. While Bush did indeed sign the law, to blame anyone other than President Obama and his welcoming immigration policy is disingenuous.

Third, the children aren’t victims of human trafficking or part of a sex smuggling ring. Some may be subjected to sexual abuse as they travel through Mexico, but their journey begins when they voluntarily get on the train or freely pay thousands of dollars to coyotes and ends when of their own choice they voluntarily surrender to the border patrol. Immigration law sharply distinguishes smuggling from trafficking. Since they’re not victims of sex trafficking, the 2008 law doesn’t pertain to most of the Central American aliens. Feinstein admits if the law did apply, it contains the flexibility to expedite deportations should Obama have the political will.

The unanticipated appearance of 90 Indians in Oklahoma sends a new message to prospective aliens: Forget about getting directly to the U.S. Instead, find a way to travel to Mexico, then just jump on the train. From there, the Mexican and U.S. governments will help you arrive, unimpeded, at your final destination.

Whether Congress agrees on a funding bill before the fast-approaching August recess, either President Obama’s bloated $3.7 billion or a substantially lower House total, is beside the point. So is Obama’s meaningless meeting later this week with Central American presidents.

The U.S. focus must be on border security and internal removals.  Lack of enforcement plus Obama’s open invitation to aliens worldwide is the real problem; the 2008 law is merely a distraction.

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Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow whose columns have been nationally syndicated since 1987. Contact him at [email protected].