PANAJI
The State government has no data as to the number of Goan NRIs in the United States of America (USA), according to a written reply furnished by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the Goa legislative assembly during the recently concluded monsoon session.
"This data is not available with the Office of Commissioner for NRI Affairs," Sawant said in response to a query posed by Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares-Ferreira.
Ferreira had sought to know the number of Goan NRIs living in the US and whether the State government was providing assistance to Goans who had illegally entered that country and are under threat of deportation in the face of a rigorous drive launched by the Trump Administration to expel illegal immigrants.
Sawant said the Office of Commissioner for NRI Affairs has corresponded with Indian Missions in the US who are providing assistance to the affected persons.
Replying to another supplementary, Sawant said, there are 18 legal agents operating in Goa who help send Goans to the US and other countries for employment.
Ten of these legal agents are based in North Goa, mostly in Panaji and eight in South Goa at Margao and Vasco, Sawant's written reply said.
Sawant also admitted that there are "illegal agents" operating in the State who are sending Goans to the USA illegally for hefty fees. Three such illegal agents have been booked and their prosecution is pending, he said.
"These illegal agents send Goans to the USA without having a valid recruitment license from the Protector of Emigrants," Sawant said.
One of the cases was registered this year in February at Vasco. The agent has been booked for cheating under the Indian Penal Code and under some sections of the Emigration Act, 1983 and the case is still being investigated.
The other two cases were booked at Margao in July 2022 and in November last year. Both these cases are being tried in courts, Sawant added.
