Representative image for illegal immigration.
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Illegal immigration is a pertinent issue that America has increasingly been worried about in recent years amid record levels of people illegally entering and staying in the country. And, going by the latest data, Indians seem to be a large proportion of these people.
According to a report in the Times of India, data from the US Customs and Border Protection (US-CBP) showed that between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024 (US FY 2024), 29 lakh people were arrested trying to enter the United States through Mexico and Canada routes. Of them, 90,415 were Indian nationals, which is on an average 10 Indians were arrested per hour during this period.
Further, the data showed that roughly 50 per cent of these illegal migrants were Gujaratis. It also showed that these migrants preferred to cross the Canadian border over the Mexican one, with 43,764 being arrested from the USA's northern border, making it the highest number of Indians caught at this border till now. In FY 2023, the number of illegal Indian immigrants caught was 96,917.
However, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the country in total has shown a marginal decline year-on-year. Also, in 2024, fewer Indians were caught at the US-Mexico border, with the number recorded at 25,616. This number in US FY 2023 was 41,770.
Despite the numerous and extremely difficult challenges, such as the risk of being trafficked, and the high risk of death, many people still aim to enter the USA due to the allure of living a better life.
"People have stopped using the 'donkey route' through Mexico for two main reasons. First, individuals were often held in transit countries like Dubai or Turkey before being smuggled into Mexico, but U.S. authorities have intensified surveillance on illegal immigrants staying in these nations, disrupting the human smuggling networks, a source in the immigration network told TOI.
Another source told the publication,"Gujaratis, too, began choosing Canada over Mexico as they could easily hire a taxi and cross over to the US. Recently, US authorities have tightened vigil on this border. Such immigrants are usually sent to Canada as most of them carry a Canadian visitor visa. However, the immigrants try again after some time on the same route."