Frustration over Pleasanton university's closure spreads to India

[Newsjock]

Source: Contra Costa Times

Frustration over the closure of a Pleasanton-based university that federal authorities have called a sham spilled over internationally to India on Friday.

Activists from the All India Students Federation staged a protest outside the office of the U.S. Consul General in Hyderabad. Members, who clashed with police and tried to break into the consulate grounds, asked the government to help and protect the 1,555 students of Tri-Valley University -- a majority of whom are from that region of India, according to Indian news reports.

... Ninety percent of the school's students are from India, said Jayaram Komati, president of the Telugu Association of North America.

... Komati said that a number of students have already been interviewed by ICE agents, most have been questioned and released but he said a few have been required to wear ankle bracelets.

Read more: http://www.contracostatimes.com/top-stories/ci_17230134?nclick_check=1

[jody]

1. We cannot continue to allow people to enter the United States undetected, undocumented and unchecked

quote from “Renewing America’s Promise”

[TheMadMonk]

2. Not quite sure what you're trying to say there mate. The enrolment...

...numbers are at the very least a major red flag. 90% Indian. ¿WTF? Immigration is probably involved because odds are, provided tuition was paid up, no one made any great effort to distinguish between student and tourist visas and nothing any more sinister than that.

I wonder how many of the remaining 10% were there because no other institution would have them, even with tuition up front.

I'd also be extremely curious to know their graduation rate. I suspect it too, is well above the norm.

90%? How was it allowed to get this high before anyone started asking questions?

[jody]

6. The sentence I quoted in context is perhaps more clear.

QUOTE
We cannot continue to allow people to enter the United States undetected, undocumented, and
unchecked. The American people are a welcoming and generous people, but those who enter
our country’s borders illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of the law. We
need to secure our borders, and support additional personnel, infrastructure, and technology on
the border and at our ports of entry. We need additional Customs and Border Protection agents
equipped with better technology and real-time intelligence. We need to dismantle human
smuggling organizations, combating the crime associated with this trade. We also need to do
more to promote economic development in migrant-sending nations, to reduce incentives to
come to the United States illegally. And we need to crack down on employers who hire
undocumented immigrants. It’s a problem when we only enforce our laws against the
immigrants themselves, with raids that are ineffective, tear apart families, and leave people
detained without adequate access to counsel. We realize that employers need a method to
verify whether their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States, and we will
ensure that our system is accurate, fair to legal workers, safeguards people’s privacy, and
cannot be used to discriminate against workers.
UNQUOTE

SOURCE: "THE 2008 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL PLATFORM, RENEWING AMERICA’S PROMISE"

[Gormy Cuss]

4. They were detected and documented.

They all had valid student visas to attend an unaccredited, mostly online course work university. The real question is, how did an unaccredited school with this profile get approval for SEVIP without some flags being raised.

[jody]

5. Interesting that you equate visas obtained fraudulently as "valid student visas". n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

7. The students had valid visas. The fraud was detected AFTER the fact

and so far the only complaint is against the sham university owner.

[jody]

8. OK I and govt say the visas were obtained fraudulently and you protest no. If you are right then the

affected students have nothing to fear and will not be deported.

Have a great day and goodbye :hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

9. The government is saying that the school obtained the visas improperly.

To the best of my knowledge the government has not said that the STUDENTS were part of the fraud.
This is a local story and I've seen a lot of different coverage of it. So far it's all based on the government taking action based on institutional fraud. There hasn't any indication of the government pursuing fraud actions against the students. Contrary to your assertion however there is apparently a very real risk that the students WILL be deported even if they had no part in the wrongdoing because the government can void the visas.

[JI7]

3. shouldn't whoever set up this fake college be arrested

and charged ?