Telangana Illegal Immigrants in Iraq in No Man’s Land

Around 15,000 illegal migrants from India, according to Gulf Returnees' Welfare Association, GRWA, are trapped in Iraq, and their families are scrambling for official help with their safe return, gathering documents to establish their nationality at the Indian embassy. Many workers were illegally sent with “dummy” visas into Iraq to work for US soldiers as the Indian government had imposed travel restrictions to Iraq after the 2003 US invasion. The immigrants, mostly poor and illiterate, were allegedly employed as cheap labor for construction after the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime. Many lack passports or official visa stamps. GRWA urges massive diplomatic evacuation exercises with emergency certificates for the undocumented immigrants. – YaleGlobal