US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday (local time) charged Indian citizen Vodel Yashaswi Kottapalli with multiple crimes, including sexually assaulting a minor, and took him into custody.
In a post on X, ICE said he is charged with sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13, as well as shoplifting and causing a public disturbance. The agency added: “Vodela Yashaswi Kottapalli, a criminal illegal alien from India, is pending sexual assault and theft charges in New Jersey. We will hold him in custody pending removal proceedings.”
Removal proceedings are official legal processes in which US immigration courts decide whether a foreign national should be deported from the country. Individuals are often held in custody during this process, especially when charged with serious crimes.
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ICE has not released additional information regarding the status of the criminal case or the timeline for removal proceedings. Charges are still pending and no convictions have yet been recorded.
Meanwhile, it has stepped up its enforcement against individuals who are in the US illegally during Donald Trump’s second term.
Last December, ICE also released information about an Indian truck driver involved in a fatal highway accident in Oregon that claimed two lives, according to ANI.
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According to ICE, Kumar illegally entered the United States through Arizona in November 2022 and later obtained a work permit and commercial driver’s license from California state authorities.
The case comes amid several similar incidents involving Indian nationals operating heavy trucks in the US.
In recent months, authorities have reported at least three other fatal crashes involving undocumented Indian truck drivers in Florida and California.
About ICE
Founded in 2003 by the merger of the investigative and domestic enforcement units of the former US Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service, ICE now employs over 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices in the US and abroad.
The agency operates with an annual budget of around $8 billion, primarily allocated to three operational divisions: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Office of the Chief Legal Counsel (OPLA). A fourth division, Management and Administration (M&A), provides support to these operating branches in carrying out ICE’s mission.
ICE Detention Plan $38.3 Billion
In other news, the Trump administration is putting forward a $38.3 billion proposal to overhaul the U.S. immigration detention system, a major expansion that officials say will streamline operations and speed up deportations, Bloomberg reported.
The plan, known as the Detention Reengineering Initiative, includes acquiring and upgrading eight large detention centers, adding 16 processing sites and taking over 10 existing turnkey facilities already operated by ICE. The largest centers are expected to accommodate up to 10,000 people, especially for international moves.
(With input from agencies)