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Sikhs arrested near Mexican border

Sonia Chopra

Five Sikhs, arrested in a remote part of Arizona after they had smuggled themselves across the Mexican-American border, are expected to appear before a judge this week and seek political asylum. They are expected to tell the judge that they fled India because they were persecuted for their religious beliefs.

They have been in a holding cell in Tucson since their arrest last week. This is reportedly the first time that a group of Indians have been nabbed sneaking into Arizona from Mexico.

The clean-shaven men had walked seven miles into America with a group of Mexicans when an Immigration and Naturalization Service helicopter spotted them. This was about a week ago. They were part of a group of 30 men intercepted near a highway.

Rob Daniels, a spokesman for the US Border Patrol who would not release the names of the men, said it was uncommon for US guards to catch Indian immigrants sneaking into America. Usually, hundreds of Mexicans are intercepted at the border and are sent back.

The Indians reportedly spoke little English, but with the help of a translator. They said they had left India in the first week of December, using their passports to travel to England. They left England three weeks later with a set of new documents.

The men did not have travel documents at the time of their arrest. They reportedly told the INS officials that the smuggler who helped them escape into America took away the documents.

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