US to send back 30 Bangladeshis

The United States will send back 30 Bangladeshis living there illegally.

“They [the US] have followed all the legal procedures and after that their courts declared some Bangladeshis illegal immigrants. The number is not so big. In the first phase, they will send back 30 illegal immigrants,” said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday.

The minister requested the US to make sure that those returning are Bangladeshi citizens.

The US will also deport illegal immigrants from different other countries.

Kamal was briefing the media after having two rounds of meeting with two US delegations separately at the home ministry.

Sarah Sewall, US under-secretary of state, and Alan Bersin, assistant secretary for US Homeland Security, led the two teams comprising 14 members including US envoy in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat.

Kamal said talks were held mainly on two issues -- counterterrorism and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

The US delegations wanted to know how Bangladesh is fighting militancy. They also queried about the operations of the recently formed Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, and asked if the unit is causing any barrier to the protection of human rights.

The teams were told that all counterterrorism operations by the government are done upholding human rights issues.  

On counterterrorism measures, the minister told the delegations that Bangladesh has recently formed a counterterrorism unit and a cyber crime unit.

Besides, the government is encouraging people to stand against terrorism at village level through community policing. It is also motivating leaders of different religious communities to work under a single platform. 

Both sides talked about sharing expertise and experience on counterterrorism between the two countries, the minister said. “Bangladesh will welcome an initiative to train law enforcers by the US in this regard.”

Led by the minister, senior home secretary, inspector general of police, director general of Rapid Action Battalion and representatives of different intelligence agencies attended the meeting.