by Harshvardhan Vathsangam

Indian Minister of External Affairs, S.M. Krishna criticized the U.S. for placing radio tags on students involved in the university's scam.

About 1500 Indian students, many from the state of Andhra Pradesh, face deportation following a major immigration bust involving their college, Tri-Valley University. The university was raided and shut down by the U.S. government on charges of immigration fraud.

The university, which is ironically located in a city named Pleasanton, California, allegedly made millions of dollars by issuing visa-related documents and enabling foreign students to obtain illegal student immigration status.

According to the official complaint, more than 95 percent of the university’s students were from India. What tipped off immigration authorities was that more than half the students reported their address as the same single apartment in Sunnyvale. The apartment manager told immigration agents that only four university students lived there from June 2007 to August 2009 and none since.

Investigations by immigration authorities have revealed that even though students were enrolled in courses at the university and on paper lived in California, in reality they worked in various parts of the country as far as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The incident has since snowballed into a diplomatic thorn in the flesh between the U.S. and India over the treatment of the students.

What has really incensed both local and Indian community leaders is that some of the affected students were made to wear radio tags to keep track of their locations. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for its part has justified the use of these tags as standard procedure that does not necessarily imply guilt or suspicion of criminal activity.

The U.S. ICE, along with the Embassy of India, Washington D.C., has established a series of support measures including a helpline for the Indian students affected by the closure of Tri-Valley University, which any affected student may call to seek help.

The Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, on the other hand, has criticized the move, saying that while the Indian government supports severe action against University officials, it is inappropriate and unfair to force the collars on students. The situation, he said, effectively boils down to treating them as common criminals when they themselves have been duped by promoters of the university.

“The students who came in good faith, they should not be victimized. It is necessary they should be absorbed into other universities in the United States and allowed to pursue their studies,” Krishna said while addressing reporters.

Both countries are working in earnest to address the plight of affected students.

The university has termed these allegations as “baseless” and claimed that it had not duped any student, instead opting to blame a staff member for the entire episode. The truth lies in between.

Meanwhile, time is ticking for those legitimate students caught in this chaos as they seek admission into other colleges or face deportation.

By Michelle Banh

Chinese railroad workers line the Transcontinental Railroad, buried in snow. Roughly 3,000 Chinese were recruited to work on the railroad project, which started in 1865.

From as early as the mid-1800s, people from Asian countries have immigrated to the United States seeking better lives. With assurances of prosperity and opportunities abound, the U.S. has and continues to play the role of the promised land for many foreigners.

Filipinos expected just that when they settled in modern day Louisiana in the 1760s. Arriving by Spanish galleons – broad, multi-decked ships – that stopped in Mexican ports, these Asian pioneers deserted their maritime posts to make their way into America. Once settled, Filipinos began forming shrimping villages that have lasted to this day.

Roughly 80 years later, Chinese and Indian immigrants came to the U.S., though under extremely unsavory circumstances. With the abolition of the slave trade recently underway, British and Spanish colonialists were running short on African slaves. Before long, South China and India became the new “it” locations to find replacement laborers. These Chinese and Indian individuals were ultimately “recruited” to work at remote sugar and cotton plantations.

Approximately 250,000 Chinese and 500,000 Indians were transported to America under this new system of slavery.

It was not until 1848 that Asians voluntarily immigrated to the U.S. in significant numbers. Lured by the promise of wealth at “Gold Mountain” (a Chinese nickname for California during the Gold Rush), Chinese immigrants flocked to America in record numbers. While some became miners, others worked as smalltime merchants, gardeners, and domestics.

Then in 1865, the Transcontinental Railroad project revolutionized transportation and effectively established Asian social standing in America.

As the Union Pacific worked westward from Nebraska and the Central Pacific worked eastward from Sacramento, the two companies hired roughly 3,000 Chinese immigrants to take part. Although they worked strenuous hours – often without fair pay – and sacrificed a number of their lives in the process, the Chinese were ultimately left out of any celebrations when the railroad was complete.

Anti-Chinese sentiments came to a head in 1882 with the Chinese Exclusion Act, which stopped all immigration from China and denied citizenship to any Chinese already in the U.S.

Such were the beginnings of Asian immigration to America – not always positive, but definitive of the Asian American community today.

“When I read about how Asians used to be persecuted by Americans in history, I feel a sense of happiness that we have moved so far from that now that Americans can embrace being Asian,” said Jenny Liu, a USC freshman from Fremont, Calif.

Though the Asian American community has had its fair share of obstacles in immigrating to this country, its tremendous efforts to build and foster an Asian American identity from the ground up has forever impacted the millions of people living in America today.

By Cherise Osaki

We asked immigrants and children of immigrants what they think of life here in the good ol’ US of A:

Why did you/your family decide to come to the U.S.?

“My family is similar to many families post-1965 who are beneficiaries of the Hart-Cellar immigration act which removed the rigid quotas for Asian immigration… My dad immigrated in 1969 to Vancouver to pursue his education.”

Sumun Pendakur, Director of USC’s Asian Pacific American Student Services
Family from Karnataka, India
U.S. hometown: Evanston, IL

“Originally I came to the states as a student, and after one year of studying at that university I got a scholarship to study at graduate school, so I came to USC, first to study, and after that I met my husband who is Japanese American from California, and I moved here to be with him.”

Masako Tamanaha, USC Assistant Professor of Japanese
Okinawa, Japan
U.S. hometown: Torrance, CA

What did you think of the U.S. before you moved here?

“I just imagined blonde people everywhere, like ‘Am I going to be the only Asian’?”

Jungwon Park, USC freshman
Seoul, South Korea
U.S. hometown: Arcadia, CA

“I thought most Americans were kind, patient, and honest.”

Wen Fang Pan, homemaker
People’s Republic of China (PRC)
U.S. Hometown: Sunnyvale, CA

How has your perception of the U.S. changed since you moved here?

“I was a 14-year-old child when I came here. My first impression was how big it was and how important individual rights were.”

Tina Tyner, homemaker
South Korea
U.S. hometown: San Diego, CA

“[I believed that] the U.S. was strong in economy & military force, advanced in science & technology, upholding Christian banner & healthy moral and family values, and was respected because of such status. Though most aspects are still true, her economy has weakened over the years for various reasons. The Christian heritage has also become an eyesore for many liberals and [is] consistently under attack by the media, thus, has corrupted the moral value of the society and weakened the family structures.”

W.T. Lin, Assistant at Scosche Industries
Taipei, Taiwan
U.S. hometown: Simi Valley, CA

What do you miss most about your home country?

“[My parents] really miss the family aspect.  But I also think they miss the India that they knew. My parents have an imagined idea of what India was.”

Sumun Pendakur

“Just my family and friends, but not other things because we can obtain anything here.”

Makiko Osaka, USC Japanese Lecturer
Hokkaido, Japan
U.S. hometown: Torrance, CA

What do you like most about the U.S.?

“I find many share the same values, and I am free to worship my God as our founding fathers meant for this country to enjoy, and because this is my home now.”

W.T. Lin

“In Japan, you always have to worry about what other people think about you, like your friends, your family, and people at work. But I guess here, people don’t care. They don’t try to interfere here, so I feel more free.”

Masako Tamanaha

“When I came to America it was so much more free, so much more well-rounded in terms of education. And I’m at USC and it’s one of the most well-rounded schools, socially, academically, and everything, and I don’t think I would have gotten that in Korea at all.”

Jungwon Park