&w=3840&q=100)
US imposes visa curbs on Indian travel agencies for 'knowingly facilitating illegal immigration'
The US on Monday said that it would impose visa restrictions on owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies in India for knowingly facilitating 'illegal immigration' to the US read more
The US on Monday said that it would impose visa restrictions on owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies in India for knowingly facilitating 'illegal immigration' to the United States.
'Mission India's Consular Affairs and Diplomatic Security Service work every day across our Embassy and Consulates to actively identify and target those engaged in facilitating illegal immigration and human smuggling and trafficking operations,' the State Department said in a statement.
The Department of State is 'taking steps today to impose visa restrictions on owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies based and operating in India for knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the United States', it said.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The statement added that the US will 'continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks'.
'Our immigration policy aims not only to inform foreign nationals about the dangers of illegal immigration to the United States but also to hold accountable individuals who violate our laws, including facilitators of illegal immigration,' the State Department said.
The State Department emphasised that enforcing US immigration laws and policies is essential to upholding the rule of law and ensuring the safety of American citizens.
It added that the visa restriction policy is global in scope and applies even to individuals who would otherwise be eligible for the Visa Waiver Programme.
When asked about the travel agencies and people against whom visa restrictions have been effected, a US embassy official in New Delhi said the details cannot be provided.
'We cannot provide a list of individuals or travel agencies the United States is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on due to visa record confidentiality,' PTI quoted the official as saying.
With inputs from agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
25 minutes ago
- India.com
Which countries does the Baloch Army buy weapons from, and where does it get the money? Check key details here
पाकिस्तानी सेना के छक्के छुड़ा रखे हैं New Delhi: Bankrupt Pakistan is currently in massive trouble and facing a double threat. On one hand, the country is witnessing a severe water crisis due to tensions with India; on the other hand, Balochistan is posing serious challenges to the Shehbaz government. It is important to note the fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army are so strong that the Pakistani army is unable to confront them. In this article, we will tell you the name of the country from where Balochistan is getting the weapon and financial support. Recently, the fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army took control of a train called the Jaffer Express in Pakistan. During this incident, they took more than 100 Pakistani army soldiers hostage. During that time, several modern weapons were seen in the hands of the Baloch fighters. Since then, questions have been raised about which countries are supplying them with these weapons. Here are some of the key details: Baloch army fighters purchase weapons from the black markets of Iran and Afghanistan. In 2021, the US military left behind its weapons in Afghanistan. It is estimated that the Balochistan Army also purchases American weapons. According to reports, the BLA also possesses Russian weapons. Speaking of BLA's weapons, they possess deadly arms from both the US and Russia, including the M240B machine gun, M16A4 rifle, and RPG-7 launcher. In Balochistan, separatists are fighting for its independence, and their bases are located in the mountains. It is said that they also receive support from local civilians.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
From China with Love: Kash Patel explains to Joe Rogan how fentanyl became America's opium war
Even as Elon Musk and Donald Trump dominated headlines by publicly feuding on social media, the newly appointed FBI Director, Kash Patel , appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast for his first long-form interview. The conversation, over two hours long, ranged across familiar territory—government dysfunction, national security, and internet conspiracy—but the most striking element was Patel's claim that the United States was not just facing a public health crisis from fentanyl. It was, in his words, "chemical warfare." Patel, a former national security official under Trump and the first Indian-American to lead the FBI, framed the fentanyl epidemic not as a policing issue, but as a global, coordinated attack on American infrastructure—social, generational, and institutional. With over 100,000 overdose deaths in 2024, and fentanyl now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, Patel argued that this is no longer about addiction. 'You don't hear about fentanyl deaths in China, India, or England,' he told Rogan. 'That's not an accident.' His central claim is this: the chemicals used to make fentanyl are manufactured in China, trafficked through third-party countries including India and Canada, and assembled by Mexican cartels. The final product—often disguised as prescription pills or even candy—enters the US through its borders and postal system. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Bangladesh: Unsold Sofas at Bargain Prices (View Current Prices) Sofas | Search Ads Search Now Undo Patel calls this "tier-one national security," positioning it on par with terrorism or nuclear proliferation. A Structural Rot in the FBI Patel took office in February 2025, after being nominated by President Trump in his second term. One of his first internal discoveries was that nearly a third of the FBI's 35,000 employees—more than 11,000—were stationed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. 'Crime doesn't concentrate in D.C.,' he told Rogan. 'Our people were there not because they needed to be operationally, but because promotions required proximity to headquarters. ' Within his first 100 days, Patel moved over 1,500 agents out of Washington to field offices across the country. In his view, violent crime, fentanyl distribution, and cartel activity required a different kind of organisational posture—more agents embedded in localities and fewer in administrative clusters. The Bureau, he said, had become accustomed to paper-pushing, inter-agency briefings, and national press strategy. It was, in his words, 'a bureaucracy that served itself.' He did not blame the rank-and-file agents. His criticism was aimed squarely at leadership and structural incentives that encouraged ambition over impact. The Chemical Trail: From China to Mexico The fentanyl story, as laid out by Patel, begins in China. While China has publicly banned the export of fentanyl, Patel argues that Chinese chemical firms have instead focused on exporting precursor chemicals—substances used to synthesize fentanyl. These are often shipped under the guise of legitimate pharmaceutical or industrial use. China, he says, understands how to exploit technicalities and regulatory blind spots. Mexican cartels then use these ingredients to manufacture illicit fentanyl, which is pressed into counterfeit pills—often mimicking common painkillers like oxycodone—or mixed into other drugs. These pills are sometimes manufactured in colours and shapes resembling candy, making them especially dangerous to young users. Patel did not mince words: 'This isn't accidental poisoning. This is strategic lethality.' He alleges that while the Chinese state may not be formally directing these exports, its regulatory failures and indifference make it complicit in a long-term degradation of American society. India's Role: A Transit Point and a Partner One of the most underreported revelations from the interview was Patel's mention of India. According to him, the precursors exported by China are not always routed directly to Mexico. Increasingly, they are sent through countries with large chemical manufacturing sectors and less stringent inspection protocols. India, particularly due to its large pharmaceutical and chemical export industry, has become a frequent transit point. However, Patel made clear that India is not the source of the problem—it is becoming a part of the solution. 'I just got off the phone with the Indian government,' he said. 'My FBI is over there working with the heads of their law enforcement authorities.' The statement is significant. The United States has previously worked with Indian intelligence on counter-terrorism and cybercrime, but cooperation on chemical interdiction is a relatively new domain. Patel said that joint operations have already resulted in the identification and blacklisting of several shell companies acting as front entities to reroute Chinese precursors to Latin America. This new alignment appears to be more than transactional. Patel, who is of Gujarati origin, has cultivated strong working ties with Indian security officials. He describes India as 'a firewall,' capable of halting the passage of fentanyl ingredients before they reach North American networks. The Northern Route: Canada's Quiet Vulnerability While much of the US conversation on drug trafficking focuses on the southern border, Patel said cartels have shifted strategy. With heightened enforcement at the US-Mexico border, fentanyl is increasingly being shipped into Canada—specifically Vancouver—where it is processed and then transported into the US through comparatively porous northern crossings. This Canadian route has largely flown under the radar, but Patel suggests it is now one of the primary distribution channels. The shift represents a classic adaptation: cartels respond faster to policy changes than the bureaucracies they exploit. Patel was not critical of Canada directly, but his message was implicit. 'They're getting cute,' he said of the traffickers. 'They know where the vulnerabilities are.' The Biden Administration's Priorities One of Patel's sharpest criticisms was directed at the Biden administration. Upon taking office, the Department of Defense had the opportunity to continue a national security strategy drafted under Trump that included plans for addressing the fentanyl crisis. Patel claims the incoming administration ignored the plan. 'The first Concept of Operations issued under Biden wasn't for narcotics. It was for climate change,' he said. For Patel, this was not just a bureaucratic oversight—it was a political decision. 'They didn't want to use Trump's plan because it was Trump's,' he said. The result, he argues, has been the loss of institutional continuity in confronting an urgent national threat. Internal Reckoning: The Legacy of Russiagate Beyond fentanyl, Patel also discussed his efforts to reform the FBI internally. As a former congressional investigator involved in examining the origins of the Russia probe, Patel believes the Bureau's leadership was compromised. He alleges that senior officials buried evidence, overstepped legal boundaries, and used classified tools for political purposes. He revealed that he had discovered a 'vault' of sealed documents related to the Russia investigation within FBI headquarters. As Director, he has begun releasing these materials to congressional oversight committees. He also claims that, during his time as an investigator, his personal data was secretly subpoenaed by the Department of Justice, under a sealed order that prohibited the phone company from informing him. While the legal implications of these claims are still unclear, they underscore Patel's larger narrative: the federal government, as currently structured, is not equipped to fight the war it is already in. A Different Kind of Indian-American Official Patel's ascent is not just bureaucratic; it is cultural. Indian-Americans in public life have typically gravitated toward technology, medicine, or policy advisory roles. Few have taken the path of aggressive national security enforcement. Fewer still have spoken as bluntly as Patel. His policy focus is not on representation or identity. It is on systems, threat networks, and sovereign resilience. He rejects both technocratic incrementalism and rhetorical activism. And in his first major public appearance, he used the nation's most downloaded podcast not to discuss himself, but to outline what he sees as a clear and present danger. A Chemical Map of Power If Patel is correct, the fentanyl crisis is not simply a matter of over-prescription or opioid demand. It is part of a global supply chain with clear geopolitical implications. The pipeline runs from chemical labs in Wuhan, through manufacturing corridors in Gujarat, into cartel labs in Mexico and British Columbia, and ends in American schools, suburbs, and morgues. This is the map Kash Patel laid out—not as theory, but as a structure of evidence, testimony, and operations already underway. Whether Washington can follow it is a different question. Whether it will is a harder one. Joe Rogan Experience #2334 - Kash Patel
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
A Song of ICE and Fire: How Donald Trump's immigration raids sparked the LA riots
A demonstrator waves an American and Mexican flag during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) Protesters clashed with federal immigration agents in Los Angeles County for a second consecutive day on Saturday, after raids at a Home Depot and a nearby meatpacking plant sparked renewed unrest in the Latino-majority suburb of Paramount. The clashes came just 24 hours after ICE detained over 121 people across the city, prompting protests outside a federal processing centre where agents used flash-bang grenades and what advocates said was tear gas. The Trump administration accused city officials of failing to support enforcement efforts, with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calling the protests an 'insurrection.' Meanwhile, California leaders, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom, condemned the federal crackdown as provocative and politically motivated, even as the National Guard prepared for deployment under a rarely used rebellion clause. ICE, Rubber Bullets, and a Home Depot Cart Ablaze Over 121 immigrants were detained in a single day. Protesters hurled glass bottles and fireworks. Law enforcement responded with pepper balls and flash-bangs. At one point, a Home Depot shopping cart was set on fire and melted into a barricade. In Paramount, one of the epicentres of resistance, federal officers used rubber bullets to disperse a growing crowd—many of whom were chanting in Spanish and waving phones in one hand and makeshift placards in the other. Down the street, motorbikes revved between police and protesters like a surreal video game gone wrong. Music blasted, tear gas lingered, and the tension was palpable. Newsom vs. Trump: A Constitutional Showdown Governor Gavin Newsom called the deployment 'a spectacle,' arguing that it was not about maintaining order but staging political theatre. 'There is no shortage of law enforcement,' he said. 'There is a shortage of federal restraint.' The state had not requested troops. It didn't want them. And yet, by nightfall, they were en route. Trump's memo referred to the protests as a 'form of rebellion.' By invoking the same clause Lyndon B. Johnson once used in 1965 to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama, Trump flipped the script: this time, troops weren't defending dissent—they were suppressing it. A Warning Shot—or a Political War? According to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the country faced an 'insurrection.' He posted online, 'Deport the invaders, or surrender to insurrection. These are the choices.' Meanwhile, Trump's border czar Thomas Homan doubled down, promising the ICE raids would not stop. 'They're not going to shut us down,' he said. If that sounds familiar, it should. The Trump administration attempted similar tactics during the George Floyd protests of 2020, but ultimately held back on federalizing National Guard forces. This time, there was no hesitation. Marines on Alert, a City on Edge In a move not seen since the Rodney King riots in 1992, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton were on high alert—ready to be deployed into a major US city. The last time this happened without a governor's request was nearly 60 years ago. The legal justification? 'To protect ICE and federal property.' The political context? Midwestern rallies. Red-state donor pressure. And a GOP base increasingly radicalised by apocalyptic narratives about immigration. Why the Workplaces? Los Angeles County Sheriffs stand during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) Trump's ICE playbook has evolved. Where once the administration focused on 'criminal aliens,' it now targets workforces wholesale—garment factories, construction sites, fast-food chains. In just one week, over 2,000 immigrants were arrested per day, many in dawn raids backed by FBI logistics and IRS intel. The strategy is simple: scale. You can goose arrest numbers faster by raiding a warehouse than by sending agents after individual overstayers. Plus, it sends a chilling message to undocumented workers: no place is safe—not even a laundromat. Collateral Damage: An Economic Shock The raids don't just affect undocumented migrants. They hit American businesses, too. In industries like construction and landscaping, undocumented workers make up up to 20% of the labour force. One Cleveland builder, Gus Hoyas, put it bluntly: 'You get rid of these folks, and it's going to kill us.' Even hospitality is feeling the pinch. Greg Casten, who runs several D.C. restaurants, warned that losing even 10% of his staff would cripple operations. He's received annual letters from the IRS about mismatched Social Security numbers. But in today's climate, those letters now feel like warning shots. The Legal Abyss: Employers Damned Either Way Employers walk a tightrope. If they suspect a worker is undocumented and act, they risk discrimination suits. If they don't, they could be next on the ICE radar. It's a paradox by design—one that ensures maximum fear with minimal due process. As one immigration lawyer put it: 'You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.' The Politics of Spectacle In the end, this isn't just about law enforcement—it's about optics. Trump knows that workplace raids filmed on mobile phones, protests with burning carts, and National Guard convoys on CNN aren't liabilities. They're campaign material. It's a spectacle that energises the base, demoralises the opposition, and distracts from more complex questions—like why America's immigration system has remained broken through Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, and two rounds of Trump. The End of Sanctuary? What's happening in Los Angeles isn't just about California. It's a test case for the limits of federal authority over states—and the future of sanctuary jurisdictions. Trump's memo, laced with legalese about rebellion and insurrection, effectively criminalises protest when it clashes with immigration enforcement. That should alarm anyone who remembers what the First Amendment stands for. Or what 'checks and balances' used to mean. As the dust settles and the tear gas fades, one question lingers: Is this the beginning of a new federal playbook—or the end of state sovereignty? Either way, America just entered a dangerous new chapter. And Los Angeles is its ground zero. With inputs from agencies
