Flights of desperation

The failure of what is considered an illegal immigration plan with the return of a chartered plane, carrying mostly Indians, from France to Mumbai on Tuesday was probably fortuitous.

The plane remained grounded in France for four days after it landed at an airport there for a technical stopover. The flight, operated by a Romanian company, had taken off from Dubai and was headed for Nicaragua, from where the passengers would illegally cross into the US.

The French police detained the aircraft on a tipoff. Of the 303 passengers, 276 have been brought back to Mumbai. Two passengers were detained for questioning in France.

Some passengers have sought asylum in that country, which is also probably part of the immigration plan. There were 11 unaccompanied minors.

The French police consider it more as a case of illegal immigration than of human trafficking. 

The failed attempt is a pointer to the increasing trend of Indians trying to illegally migrate to other countries.

The US is the most coveted destination, but many try to go to Canada and European countries also.

Nicaragua is a favourite transit location for crossing into the US because it is easy to procure travel documents there.

The Indian government recently told parliament, quoting the US Customs and Border Patrol, that close to one lakh Indians tried to enter the US illegally this year, marking a 52 per cent rise compared to the previous year.

More attempts are made from the Mexican border but of late, the Canada border has also become popular for transit.

A Gujarati family perished in the attempt to reach the US via Canada recently.

The traffic has apparently picked up now because of the apprehension that Donald Trump, who favours draconian measures against immigration, may return to the US presidency next year. 

The illegal immigration attempts are fraught with danger. Many accidents and deaths have occurred along both the southern and northern routes of illegal entry into the US.

Untoward incidents have taken place while people from many countries tried to illegally go to Europe, too.

Unscrupulous travel agents, who charge hefty sums to enable  passage, do not care much about the safety and wellbeing of the migrants.

Most of those who were in the Nicaragua plane were from Punjab and Gujarat.

Better awareness should be created about the risks of illegal immigration and stringent steps taken to curb the activities of agents.

Co-ordinated actions among immigration authorities of various countries are required to control them.

Many countries, especially those which are favourite destinations of migrants, are becoming increasingly hostile to migration.

The best method to curb migration is to make life better in the country, but the grass is always greener on the other side.