A Legislation that imposes sanctions against the countries, including India, who refuse to take back illegal migrants who have been convicted of crimes in the United States, has been introduced in the House of Representatives.

The bill, a companion to the Accountability in Immigrant Repatriation Act of 2008 introduced in March in the US Senate by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, was introduced by Congressmen Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Michael Castle of Delaware.

"Shockingly, criminal aliens (illegal migrants) who have served time in US prisons are routinely released onto our streets after their home countries refuse to take them back," Castle said.

"This represents a serious loop-hole in our immigration system and I believe our legislation, combined with efforts to expand border enforcement and target fraudulent identification documents, can improve security and the spending of taxpayer dollars," he added.

As of February 11, 2008, eight countries - Laos, Iran, Eritrea, Vietnam, Jamaica, China, India, and Ethiopia - have refused to repatriate a total of over 1,39,000 illegal migrants. More than 18,000 of them were convicted criminals and were released back onto American streets.

"The AIR Act would suspend all pending visa petitions from those countries until they agree to repatriate our deportees. The legislation would also direct the State Department to withhold funds under the Foreign Assistance Act to countries that persist in this refusal," Dent's office said in a statement.