Indian-American population grew by 38 percent between 2010-2017: report
Washington, Jun 18: The population of Indian-origin people in America grew by 38 per cent in seven years between 2010 and 2017, a South Asian advocacy group has said in its latest demographic report.
There are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72 per cent increase since 2010, the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) said in its snapshot.
The increase in illegal Indian-Americans can be attributed to Indian immigrants overstaying visas, it said.
Nearly 250,000 Indians overstayed their visa in 2016 therefore becoming undocumented, it said.
In general, the population of American residents tracing their roots to South Asia grew by 40 per cent. In real terms, it increased from 3.5 million in 2010 to 5.4 million in 2017, SAALT said.
The Nepali community grew by 206.6 per cent since 2010, followed by Indian (38 per cent), Bhutanese (38 per cent), Pakistani (33 per cent), Bangladeshi (26 per cent) and Sri Lankan populations (15 per cent).
There are currently at least 4,300 active South Asian Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. As of August 2018, there are approximately 2,550 active Indian DACA recipients. Only 13 per cent of the overall 20,000 DACA eligible Indians have applied and received DACA.
SAALT said that as far as DACA recipients from other countries are concerned, there are 1,300 from Pakistan, 470 from Bangladesh, 120 from Sri Lanka and 60 from Nepal.
The immigrant population density of the country shows that undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants live in New York (19,000); Michigan (4,000); Virginia (3,000); and California (2,000).
The demographic snapshot is based primarily on Census 2010 and the 2017 American Community Survey.
According to the report, income inequality has been reported to be the greatest among Asian Americans.
Nearly one percent of the approximately five million South Asians in the US live in poverty.
SAALT said there has been a rise in the number of South Asians seeking asylum in the US over the last 10 years.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained 3,013 South Asians since 2017. US Customs and Border Patrol arrested 17,119 South Asians between October 2014 and April 2018 through border and interior enforcement, it said.
According to SAALT, since 1997, more than 1.7 million dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders have received H-4 visas.
In 2017, 136,000 individuals received H-4 status. Nearly 86 per cent of H-4 visa holders are from South Asian countries.
In 2015, DHS granted work authorisation to certain H-4 visa holders. As of December 2017, approximately 127,000 visa holders were approved for H-4 EAD, the report said.
Nearly 472,000 or 10 per cent of the approximately five million South Asians in the US live in poverty, the report said.
Among South Asian Americans, Pakistanis (15.8 per cent), Nepalis (23.9 per cent), Bangladeshis (24.2 per cent), and Bhutanese (33.3 per cent) had the highest poverty rates, it said.
Bangladeshi and Nepali communities have the lowest median household incomes out of all Asian American groups, earning USD 49,800 and USD 43,500 respectively, it said.
Nearly 61 per cent of non-citizen Bangladeshi American families receive public benefits for at least one of the four federal programmes including TANF, SSI, SNAP and Medicaid/CHIP, 48 per cent of non-citizen Pakistani families and 11 per cent of non-citizen Indian families also receive public benefits, the report said.
In the lead up to the 2020 elections, South Asians are becoming an increasingly powerful segment of the American electorate, SAALT said.
According to the Current Population Survey (CPS), 49.9 per cent of voting-age, Asian American citizens cast a ballot in 2016. The number of Asian American voters in the last decade has nearly doubled from about two million voters in 2001 to 5 million voters in 2016.
Of these, Indians account for more than 1.5 million, followed by Pakistanis (2,22,252) and Bangladeshi (69,825), SAALT added.
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Protests against Khamenei's killing: Curbs remain in force in Kashmir
Srinagar (PTI): Strict restrictions remained imposed in many areas of Kashmir for the third consecutive day on Wednesday following massive protests across the valley against the killing of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, officials said.
As a precautionary measure, the government shut educational institutions till Saturday, while mobile internet speed continued to remain throttled.
"Restrictions on the movement and assembly of the people continued in many parts of Kashmir on Wednesday," the officials said.
They said strict restrictions were being enforced especially in the parts having large Shia population and those areas which have witnessed massive protests over the last three days.
A large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, the officials said.
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They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city, while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The iconic Ghanta Ghar in the city centre of Lal Chowk here continued to remain a no-go zone after the authorities sealed area with barricades erected all around it on late Sunday night.
The move to seal the Ghanta Ghar came after it witnessed massive protests on Sunday after Khamenei's assassination in the joint air strikes by the US and Israel.
This is the first time since August 2019 that protests on such a large scale have taken place in Kashmir.
The government had first ordered the closure of schools, colleges and universities for two days. However, on Tuesday it decided to close the educational institutions till Saturday as a precautionary measure in view of the protests.
Mobile internet speeds continued to remain throttled while some prepaid mobile connections were also barred, the officials added.
On Tuesday, protests rocked several places in the valley, including Sumbal and Pattan areas of North Kashmir.
In Sumbal of Bandipora district, security forces had to resort to force to disperse the demonstrators.
Some media outlets and individuals, including National Conference Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, faced police heat for allegedly circulating misleading information.
A case was filed against Mehdi and Mattu under BNS sections 197(1)(d) and 353(1)(b) at Cyber Police Station, Srinagar, for allegedly circulating "false, fabricated and misleading content" on digital and social media platforms.
"The content in question, prima facie, reflects the dissemination of distorted narratives and unverified information capable of causing public unrest and societal disharmony. Such deliberate attempts to spread misinformation pose a serious threat to peace, security, and overall stability," the police said in a statement.
Both have been condemning the killing of Khameinei and the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran.
However, hours after the registration of the case, Mehdi, an influential Shia leader, said he would not be deterred from speaking the truth.
"The people of Srinagar did not elect their MP to recite government-approved condolences. They elected him to speak truth. That mandate does not expire with an FIR," he said in a post on X.
Police has issued an appeal to people to refrain from violence and provocation.
"We appeal to all sections of the society to exercise restraint and refrain from violence and provocation," it said.
Police said they will take strict legal action against instigators of violence and those involved in unlawful activities.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed officials to be on high alert and chaired a meeting of top officials of the police and army here.
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"Chaired a meeting of senior police & civil administration officials at the Police Control Room, Kashmir, to review the law and order situation. Directed the officers to remain on heightened alert and take all necessary measures to ensure public peace and tranquillity," Sinha said on X.
He appealed to the people and community leaders to maintain peace.
"I also appeal to the citizens and community leaders to uphold harmony and contribute to an atmosphere of calm and goodwill in society. Preserving peace and sustaining the progress of society is a shared responsibility that rests equally upon each one of us," he said.
