The Undocumented Return

US President Donald Trump’s shrill election pitch on uprooting all the "parasites" in America has directly led to Indians being herded into military aeroplanes under inhumane conditions and deported back to their country. The first Texas-Amritsar flight carried 31 individuals from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, and 35 from Gujarat, among others.

Daler Singh, a resident of Salempur village in Punjab, was among the first batch of 104 Indians deported by US authorities in a widely publicised transfer. A father of two and the sole breadwinner of his family, he spent his life savings and mortgaged 1.5 acres of his family’s farmland to pay an agent in India an advance of ₹25 lakh to take him to the US via the dunki route.

Mandeep Singh, 29, attempted every government exam he was eligible for with his commerce-based high school qualification. Holding up documents, he says, “I tried. I scored 86 per cent in my 12th grade. I used to bodybuild to stay fit. All I ever wanted in life was to join the Army, but there were no vacancies.”

According to US Customs and Border Protection (USBP) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), over 9.2 million people attempted to cross into the US illegally between December 2022 and October 2024. ICE arrested a total of 3,488 Indian nationals from 2021 to 2024.

Many recent deportees state that unemployment and low wages in India often push them to take such extreme measures. The desire to provide a better life for their families compels many to undertake the illegal dunki route, despite being fully aware of the extreme hardships and near-death experiences they may face en route.

Reporter: Avantika Mehta
Camera: Suresh Pandey
Script/Editor: Divya Tiwari

Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia

#US #DonaldTrump #Deportation #DunkiRoute #Illegal #Migrants #IllegalMigrants #Immigration