US Authorities GPS Tagging Duped Indian Students

tanveer1979 writes "Indian students duped by Tri-Valley University in California have been fitted with GPS devices by US immigration authorities. Scores of Indian students were caught in a scam where the university violated immigration norms and illegally got the students F1 visa and immigration status. To keep a track on the movements of the students, the authorities have fitted them with GPS devices. This is spiraling into a major diplomatic row between India and the USA, with the former calling the practice inhuman and unwanted."

Comments

No, they shouldn't be given GPS devices

[elrous0]

They should be given plane tickets.

It should never have come down to a controversy over GPS devices because they should have been deported immediately when it was discovered that their visas were fraudulent. Goodbye, sorry about the scam, enjoy your trip back home, the ticket's on us.

Being duped (and their claims of being completely unwilling and unaware participants in the scam are already dubious at best) doesn't mean you get to remain in the country. Once back in India, they can reapply to a real university and get a real visa, if they wish. They can also be sent a refund of any "tuition" left over after this fake school's accounts were frozen. Beyond that, we don't owe them anything.

Re:No, they shouldn't be given GPS devices

[Weezul]

I'd imagine INS felt they needed more evidence against the university, overboard or not. All these students should be well paid for their time working as informants against the university, keep their work paychecks, and be refunded their 'tuition'. Send them home happy with a "thank you come again", not a deportation stamp. And then extract massive fines from this for-profit university that more than cover these expenses.

Re:No, they shouldn't be given GPS devices

[anyGould]

I think the government does owe them something - the school was listed as an approved site by the government, after all:

SEVIS is a web-based technology maintained by the US to track and monitor schools and programs, students, exchange visitors and their dependents, while they are legally enrolled in the US education system. Indeed, Tri-Valley University is among the SEVIS Approved Schools listed on the US ICE website. Authorities have since shut down the university.

So they came here, partly because the Government lists them as an approved school. Not their fault that the school is no longer approved.

But sending them home does seem preferable to the electronic-ball-and-chain. But then, American government is fond of the Guilty Until We Decide You're Guilty method...

Re:No, they shouldn't be given GPS devices

[eepok]

It has nothing to do with political power/votes. It has to do with (1) the cost of sending them back, (2) the potential for them to add to the economy (even if illegally), and (3) the cost to the economy if they all suddenly disappeared.

If the taxpayer were to pay for the rounding up and deportation of everyone in the country illegally, we'd not only have a MASSIVE bill on our hands but a ton of businesses would fail in the following days.

As much as "DO SOMETHING NOW"-sayers like to scream, they just don't want to understand that the nation is built on the exploitation of people desperate to make a living for their children. Gardeners, janitors, textiles, builders, cooks, cleaners, harvesters, etc. -- the "dirty job" industry would quickly collapse, entire crops would rot until reliable, knowledgeable workers can be found and employed; the stock market would drop with it (thanks to interdependent investment); and we'd still have unemployment because there wouldn't be a system in place to give those open jobs to the willing-to-work unemployed.

You're right. It's not about race, but it's not about crime, either. It's about MONEY. And the biggest obstacle to getting a fix through Congress is the "DO SOMETHING NOW" types shooting down pragmatic approaches such as plans that would allow amnesty for select illegal immigrants... like some of the ones in the farming industry.

"NO!!! I want all-or-nothing!! ALL OR NOTHING! DO SOMETHING NOW!"

Note: Semi-automatic just means anything but a bolt/lever/pump action firearm. This can be a simple pistol.

Re:No, they shouldn't be given GPS devices

[BBTaeKwonDo]

I second the doubting of the "I didn't know the university was fake" argument:

Investigations by US authorities found that while students were admitted to residential and on-line courses of the university and on paper lived in California, in reality they worked illegally in various parts of the country as far as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Consider also a related article which gives the university's side of the story

"Starting in April, one of student assistants Anji Reddy, who worked in TVU administrative office, teamed with another student Ram Krista Karra, who also has a consultant company, conducting a large cheating scheme by asking students to make tuition payment into Ram Krista Karra's personal account in exchange for student I-20 and CPT approval. TVU has fired these two individuals," the email said.

So we've got a bunch of people who are supposed to be attending university in California but who are actually working in other states (the visa only allows on-campus employment of less than 20 hours per week) and are paying into someone's personal account. Either these students are the most naive, trusting bunch of people on Earth, or some (or more likely, all) of them were in on the scam.

Re:No, they shouldn't be given GPS devices

[commandermonkey]

And that crime group is probably leaving decapitated bodies in the desert?

Where do you live that police won't investigate crime because of semi-automatic weapons? And why do you think that 'illegals' are the only criminals with them? Every US city has an illegal narcotics run by our very own citizens and different members of those groups are packing much worse than semi-automatic weapons. Applying your logic about why the 'Guatemalan burglars' are so successful would imply that crime in the US could be easily cut down by making all semi-automatic weapons illegal, rounding up those guns and preventing the sale further in the US. Personally I am on-board with your idea(and I bet the Mexican government would be as well since most of the guns that are fueling their drug war come from the US.)

Its not immigrants it's about class.

Why do you think crime groups are started in the first place? Do you believe that someone wakes up one morning and says 'I have a good paying job and will be able to provide for my family, but you know, I really want to stick it to whity today so I think I will boost his 31" TV that he is so proud of!' Yes, that must be it.

More than anything else, the US tries to export it's ideal. The two chickens in every pot, a good paying job for all who want one, freedom from civil unrest, and the promise of a better tomorrow for anyone willing to work for it. And you know what? People, some living under oppression; others close to starvation; still more bound by a caste system they will never escape; many who look around at their current community and see no work; all these people and more fall for it! Lured by the ideals enshrined on the Statue of Liberty they see America as a shining city on the hill, a refuge for those who persecuted and want a better life for their families. They leave their loved ones and risk death or enslavement all for the chance to work below minimum wage, at some shit job you couldn't pay a US citizen to do and they have no recourse to report labor violations or crimes committed against them for fear of being sent back to the miserable life they came from.

I have no doubt that some who come here in search of a better life, get a glimpse of what the US really is and out of despair and desperation turn to crime. The doubt doesn't exist because many of our natural born citizens are forced to a path of crime for the same reasons.

You want to curb immigration? Stop talking about the American Dream; Stop writing about it; Stop making movies and TV shows about it; and please stop teaching our children about it. Instead show the images of the poor standard of living that most Americans live under. Write about the crappy health care that most receive(those that can afford to anyway) and how many of those issues are caused by not being able to afford proper nutrition. Rewrite sitcoms to show families that unemployed/underemployed because our primary/secondary education system does a poor job at training people to work in a modernizing world. Teach our children that if you work a 40+ hour a week job(if you can find it) in most jobs you will never be able to comfortably retire without assistance. Make movies where the hero is a middle class salaried employee who can't get ahead and, rather than examine the system that is holding him down, inexplicably blames the lowest class who is suffering a worse fate than he is.

In addition to scaring people away from immigrating to the US you have the added bonus of bringing attention to real problems for this country and not the pretend ones of illegals decapitating bodies in the desert or terrorist anchor babies.

Inhuman?

[hort_wort]

Inhuman? So are animals tagging each other with GPS locators now? Those dolphins and their paranoia, always hiding amongst my tuna....

The United States is really dumb

[Stargoat]

The United States does dumb things some times. American attitude: Let's bring over the best and brightest the world has to offer. We'll pay 40000 or more for their education. We'll not spend this money on an American. Then, we'll kick the best and brightest (and know best educated) people in the world out of the country when they graduate.

This strategy will strangle long term growth in the US. Smart and educated people have smart and educated kids who in turn have smart and educated kids. Do you see where this is going?

Re:The United States is really dumb

[elrous0]

Except that's NOT the issue here. These were far from the "best and brightest." Those guys go to REAL universities, not fake ones that are just fronts for illegal employment scams.

This will give us important data

[straponego]

We can track their breeding and migratory patterns, learn about where they eat, and-- wait, you're talking about people? What do you mean, "just brown people, for now?" Not cool.

for-profit university eh?

[Weezul]

Isn't this protecting Indian students from immigration exploitation?

All fees collected by this 'university' should be refunded to the students, along with a nice payment for working as an undercover informant. If the students can gain admission to a legitimate university and can afford it, they should be granted new student visa. Otherwise, they should be given a 90 day visa to wrap up their affairs in the U.S., under the understanding that this might involve continued work, and given a plane ticket home to india. They should not be considered deported if they leave within three months. Send them home happy for helping out INS.

And all these expenses should be recouped tenfold form this for-profit 'university' that obtained their visa.

Not just next voting bloc, it's labour costs too

[realxmp]

The real reason isn't just about voting blocs, it's about party donors and cheap labor and both parties are guilty of it. Why do you think no serious attempt has been made to punish firms for deliberately employing illegal immigrants. Americans want cheap goods made in the USA -> largest cost in goods manufacture is labor + Illegals are cheap = Political inaction

Re:Not just next voting bloc, it's labour costs to

[FatAlb3rt]

You're right, both parties are guilty of it. The difference is one party tends to have some members that want to do something about it, and the entire party is demonized as being inhumane.