- Friday, May 03, 2024
Jaspal Singh, 57, was arrested for illegally entering the US twice — in 1992 and 2023.
By: Twinkle Roy
AN INDIAN man was reported dead while he was awaiting deportation because of entering the US illegally more than once, in a hospital in Atlanta on April 15.
The deceased, Jaspal Singh, 57, was arrested by US Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol officials on June 29 last year while illegally re-entering the country at its border with Mexico.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that it has notified the Indian consulate in New York and Singh’s next of kin about his death.
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The federal authorities declared the death of Singh on Wednesday. The hospital is yet to perform Singh’s autopsy to determine the official cause of death, ICE said.
Singh had entered the US illegally for the first time on October 25, 1992. He had returned to India voluntarily on January 21, 1998, after an immigration judge in the US had sought his removal.
After he was caught, the Border Patrol transferred Singh’s custody to the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Atlanta. Singh was detained at a federal processing centre in Atlanta where he continued his immigration proceedings.
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When a non-citizen dies at a detention centre, the ERO has to notify the US Congress, nongovernmental organisation stakeholders, and the media besides issuing a press release citing all relevant details on its public website within two business days.
(With PTI inputs)
