Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of Indians over the past year have asked for asylum claiming to fear they may be persecuted if returned to their country, the Arizona Republic published in Phoenix, said in an investigative report. They arrive after paying as much as $35,000 to be smuggled halfway around the globe, flying from India to Central America and then embarking on an arduous and often dangerous 3,000-mile journey through several countries, including Mexico, to reach Arizona, it said.

Some have been caught crossing illegally by the Border Patrol. More often, they are simply turning themselves in at legal border crossings in Nogales, Arizona, asking for asylum based on claims of political persecution, the US daily said. On a nightly basis, as many as two dozen Indians who have managed to establish so-called "credible fear" of persecution during hearings with US immigration asylum officers are set free at a bus station near the Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport, it said.