"As soon as we received the information regarding their detention, our Mission contacted the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security requesting for a list of the detained students … We have placed a formal request for consular access, emphasizing that the request may be taken as very high priority," ministerial spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.
At least 600 foreign students, many of them Indians, were detained this week by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after enrolling in Farmington University, a pay-to-stay scheme run by ICE undercover agents to lure in foreigners seeking to live and work in the United States without proper authorization.
READ MORE: India Seeks Consular Access to 8 Students Indicted in 'Pay to Stay' Visa Racket
Court documents that were unsealed on Wednesday showed that visa fraud charges were filed against eight students, six of whom were Indian, who acted as recruiters who enlisted people to enrol in the fake school. Kumar stressed a distinction should be made between them and students who "have been duped or defrauded in the process."
Federal prosecutors reportedly argued that students had been aware the university was fake because they did not have to attend courses and were urged to show discretion when discussing the educational program. Many of them arrived in the country on student visas and transferred to the university to be able to work.
