Indian Nationals’ Perilous Pursuit of the American Dream

During October, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) dispatched a chartered aircraft transporting Indian nationals to their home country, indicating an increasing pattern of deportations to India. This particular flight was not unique; it represented one of several significant “removal flights” conducted this year, each generally transporting over 100 individuals. These flights were repatriating groups of Indian migrants who “did not establish a legal basis to remain in the US”. US officials stated that the most recent flight, transporting adult men and women, was directed to Punjab, a region near the places of origin for many of those deported. Specific details regarding hometowns were not disclosed. By the conclusion of the US fiscal year 2024 in September, over 1,000 Indian nationals had been returned via charter and commercial flights, as reported by Royce Bernstein Murray, assistant secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security. Ms Murray informed a media briefing, “That has been part of a steady increase in removals from the US of Indian nationals over the past few years, which corresponds with a general increase in encounters that we have seen with Indian nationals in the last few years as well.” (Encounters denote situations where non-citizens are intercepted by US authorities while trying to traverse the nation’s borders with Mexico or Canada.) With the US intensifying the repatriation of Indian nationals, apprehension is rising regarding the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies on this group. Trump has previously pledged the largest migrant deportation in history. Since October 2020, officials from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have apprehended almost 170,000 Indian migrants attempting unauthorized crossings at both the northern and southern land borders. Gil Guerra and Sneha Puri, immigration analysts at Niskanen Center, a Washington-based think tank, state, “Though smaller than the numbers from Latin America and the Caribbean, Indian nationals represent the largest group of migrants from outside the Western Hemisphere encountered by the CBP in the past four years.” By 2022, approximately 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants resided in the US, positioning them as the third-largest demographic after individuals from Mexico and El Salvador, based on recent data from the Pew Research Center. Overall, unauthorized immigrants constitute 3% of the US’s total population and 22% of the foreign-born population. Analyzing the data, Mr Guerra and Ms Puri have pinpointed significant patterns in the surge of Indians trying illegal border crossings. Firstly, these migrants do not originate from the lowest economic classes. However, they are frequently unable to obtain tourist or student visas for the US, often because of lower educational attainment or English language proficiency. Consequently, they depend on agencies that charge up to $100,000 (£79,000), occasionally employing lengthy and difficult paths intended to circumvent border controls. To finance this, numerous individuals sell agricultural land or acquire loans. Unsurprisingly, information from US immigration courts in 2024 indicates that most Indian migrants were male, aged 18-34. Secondly, Canada, situated on the northern border, has emerged as a more readily available entry point for Indians, offering a visitor visa processing period of 76 days (in contrast to up to a year for a US visa in India). The Swanton Sector – encompassing the states of Vermont and counties within New York and New Hampshire – has witnessed an abrupt increase in encounters with Indian nationals since the beginning of this year, reaching a high of 2,715 in June, as discovered by the researchers. Previously, the majority of irregular Indian migrants entered the Americas through the more active southern border with Mexico, traveling via El Salvador or Nicaragua, both of which made migration easier. Up until November last year, Indian nationals had the benefit of visa-free travel to El Salvador. Mr Guerra and Ms Puri state, “The US-Canada border is also longer and less guarded than the US-Mexico border. And while it is not necessarily safer, criminal groups do not have the same presence there as they do along the route from South and Central America.” Thirdly, a significant portion of this migration seems to stem from the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab and adjacent Haryana, regions historically known for emigration. Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, represents another origin point. Punjab, contributing substantially to the number of irregular Indian migrants, is experiencing economic difficulties, such as elevated unemployment, agricultural hardship, and an impending drug crisis. Emigration has also been a longstanding practice among Punjabis, with young people in rural areas still keen to relocate internationally. A recent survey of 120 participants in Punjab conducted by Navjot Kaur, Gaganpreet Kaur, and Lavjit Kaur revealed that 56% emigrated between the ages of 18-28, frequently following secondary education. Many financed their relocation through non-institutional loans, subsequently dispatching remittances to their relatives. Furthermore, tensions have escalated concerning the separatist Khalistan movement, which aims to create an independent homeland for Sikhs. Ms Puri remarks, “This has caused fear from some Sikhs in India about being unfairly targeted by authorities or politicians. These fears may also provide a credible basis for claims of persecution that allows them to seek asylum, whether or not true.” However, precisely identifying the specific catalysts for migration proves difficult. Ms Puri states, “While motivations vary, economic opportunity remains the primary driver, reinforced by social networks and a sense of pride in having family members ‘settled’ in the US.” Fourthly, researchers observed a change in the family composition of Indian nationals at the borders. A greater number of families are attempting to cross the border. In 2021, single adults constituted the vast majority of detentions at both borders. Currently, family units account for 16-18% of detentions at both borders. This has, at times, resulted in tragic outcomes. In January 2022, an Indian family of four – belonging to a group of 11 individuals from Gujarat – perished from freezing temperatures merely 12m (39ft) from the Canadian border while trying to enter the US. Pablo Bose, a migration and urban studies scholar at the University of Vermont, indicates that Indians are attempting to cross into the US in increased quantities due to greater economic prospects and “more ability to enter the informal economies in the US cities,” particularly major urban centers such as New York or Boston. Mr Bose informed the BBC, “From everything I know and interviews I have conducted, most of the Indians are not staying in the more rural locations like Vermont or upstate New York but rather heading to the cities as soon as they can.” In these cities, he notes, they are primarily engaging in informal employment such as domestic work and restaurant jobs. The situation is expected to grow more challenging shortly. Tom Homan, a seasoned immigration official slated to oversee the nation’s borders after Trump’s inauguration in January, has declared that the northern border with Canada is a priority due to illegal migration in that vicinity being a “huge national security issue.” The future course of events is uncertain. Ms Puri comments, “It remains to be seen if Canada would impose similar policies to prevent people migrating into the US from its borders. If that happens, we can expect a decline in detentions of Indians nationals at the border.” Regardless, the aspirations motivating thousands of desperate Indians to pursue an improved life in the US are improbable to diminish, even as the path forward grows more hazardous.