Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Friday met US Consul General Katherine Hadda and discussed the issue of Telugu students stuck in that country. KTR, who is son of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, appealed for assistance from the US government to the students who face deportation, according to a release from KTR’s office.
Many students from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are among over 100 arrested so far, in a "pay-to-stay" sting operation conducted by US authorities using a fake university.
This comes following the detention of eight recruiters and some students over an alleged immigration fraud detected by a fake university sting operation set up by government agencies to crack down on visa scams.
The American Telugu Association (ATA) reported that 100 students were arrested on Wednesday.
The trade relationship between Telangana and US was also discussed during the meeting and Hadda extended greetings to KTR for being appointed TRS party Working President, said the release.
"Always a privilege to catch up with our good friend. We discussed the many areas of US-Telangana cooperation, current and future. He really deserves the moniker TRS Working President as he is always on the go! Hadda tweeted after her meeting with KTR.
KTR later replied to her tweet, saying, “Pleasure meeting with you Kathy. Glad to have covered a wide gamut of US-India relations & with Telangana in particular. As discussed, I hope you could convey our request on behalf of the students from Telugu states who are engulfed in a situation in the US."
Pleasure meeting with you Kathy. Glad to have covered a wide gamut of US-India relations & with Telangana in particular
— KTR (@KTRTRS) February 1, 2019
As discussed, I hope you could convey our request on behalf of the students from Telugu states who are engulfed in a situation in the US https://t.co/3UNzuKvN9m
Several foreign students, including students from India, are facing deportation from the US after authorities cracked down on a visa racket, which was fraudulently facilitating hundreds of immigrants to illegally remain in the country.
The US Department of Homeland Security, US Immigration and the Customs Enforcement agency made the arrests early Wednesday.
India’s External Affairs Ministry on Friday sought consular access to its students detained by the US authorities and has urged the Trump administration to address the situation at the earliest.
(With IANS inputs)