First loans and now legal fees add to woes of detained students in US

HYDERABAD: Already burdened with enormous bank loans back home, the high cost of legal proceedings in the US has added to the worries of Indian students locked up in detention centres across the country. With the cost of

bail

bonds ranging from anywhere between $5,000 and $25,000 (it varies as per county and criticality of a case) and attorney fee no less than $2,500 to $3,000, families and friends of the

University of Farmington

students are scurrying around to raise funds to assist their release.


“It’s a challenge as not all of these students have enough savings. They are reaching out to whoever they know in the US for financial help. Through the community also, we are trying to collect money to pay for their bail and hire lawyers,” said Tampa-based Chandu Talla, who is personally helping two students. “Apart from being enrolled with a phony university, a few students also have other offences – related to their driver’s licence or change of address. That’s making it difficult as the bail bond, in such cases, is much higher,” he said.

Though some attorneys have agreed to represent these students for free (on a probono basis), their numbers are far and few between, said Sunil Choudary Savili, founding-chairman of Indian Friends of

Atlanta

(IFA) that is actively working with the detained students. “Hiring attorneys is a very expensive proposition. While there are several people and groups that are making all the right noises, there is little financial help coming from them. The need of the hour is monetary assistance and dialogue with the authorities concerned to expedite the process of release of the students,” he said.

In defence of the fraternity, Anu Peshawaria, a federal immigration lawyer in the US Supreme Court, said that it was not possible for attorneys to represent all cases for free. “While many of us are helping without charging, how long can anyone do it? The rents in the US are high, the attorneys give salaries to pay their assistants, etc. Also, they aren’t charging any unreasonable fee,” she said, appealing to the Indian government to intervene.

“The government says it’s a priority to see that the students are safe. So, the ministry of external affairs should offer legal assistance. Because, if these students are harmed and they lose all their degrees and money, they’ll have no choice but to beg,” Peshawaria added.