'No Infosys employee apprehended': CEO Salil Parekh quashes viral US deportation claims

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh recently clarified that none of the IT firm’s employees were apprehended or deported by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while entering the country. His clarification came after a social media post claiming that an Infosys employee was “picked up” by ICE agents went viral.

Parekh, however, acknowledged that an employee was detained upon entry into the US and subsequently repatriated to India.

“No Infosys employee has been apprehended by any US authority. A few months ago, one of our employees was denied entry into the US and was sent back to India," he said at the company’s Q3 earnings conference on Wednesday.

Social media post that stirred the hornet's nest

The clarification followed a post shared by a user named Chetan Anantharamu, who recounted a “wild story” of an Infosys employee allegedly deported from the US. According to the post, the individual was an employee from Mysuru who had travelled to the US on-site for a project.

The user further claimed that the employee was picked up by ICE agents from the campus. “Was picked up by ICE agents, given 2 hours to pack up from his home, given 2 choices. Either go to jail or get deported.”

According to the post, the employee was escorted by agents and handed over to airport authorities in the US to ensure he boarded a flight to India via Frankfurt. What followed during the journey, the user alleged, was deeply humiliating.

“Inside the plane was humiliated with a public announcement that he should not be allowed to escape once the flight lands in Frankfurt. Again in Frankfurt, was escorted till his seat for the flight back to Bangalore & again a public announcement was made that he should not get up from his seat till flight takes off.”

The post further claimed that upon landing at Bengaluru airport, Infosys lawyers received the employee and took him home. “Right now he is completely in a depressed state & is getting counselling session from the company & Infy wants to help him sue the ICE agents in the US. Guess such stories will become normal in the coming days for Indian executives in the US on H1B,” the user wrote towards the end of the post.

ICE powers, operations

At present, ICE is carrying out the Trump administration’s mass deportation initiative, a central promise of Donald Trump’s electoral campaign. After assuming office for a second term, Trump significantly expanded ICE’s size, budget, and mandate.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) views its mission as critical to public safety and national security. Its powers, however, differ from those of local police departments in the United States.

ICE agents can stop, detain, and arrest people they suspect of being in the US illegally. Their authority to enter a home or other private space, however, requires a signed judicial warrant.

The Trump administration, however, has selected agents from several federal law enforcement agencies to participate in immigration enforcement.

Border Patrol officers increasingly operate within the US, participating in ICE raids. ICE and others have been deployed officers across cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis. 

What happens to those detained by the ICE?

Agents can also detain US citizens in limited circumstances—such as when a person interferes with an arrest, assaults an officer, or is suspected of being in the country illegally.

Typically, the agency operates within the United States, with some staff posted abroad. ICE’s sister agency, US Customs and Border Protection, is responsible for patrolling the US borders.

If detained by the ICE, an individual can be temporarily held and released after questioning. In select situations, the ICE will detain and transfer the person to a larger detention facility anywhere in the US or abroad. 

It can also take days for families and/or lawyers to find out where an individual is if he/she is detained by the agency.