New Delhi: With hopes of having a better life and earning more money, Indians, especially Gujaratis, are among the highest number of individuals who were caught trying to illegally enter the US through the Mexico and Canadian borders with over 90 thousand nabbed by the border police in one year.
The numbers make up for an average of 10 Indians trying to enter the US illegally every hour.
Data on Indians illegally trying to enter US
In the US financial year 2024, from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, around 29 lakh illegal immigrants were apprehended while attempting to cross into the country via Mexico and Canada, according to US Customs and Border Protection (US-CBP) data. Among them, 90,415 were Indian nationals, Times of India reported.
Of these Indians, almost half reportedly hailed from Gujarat, as per sources in Indian agencies monitoring illegal immigration. It was found that this number equals to around 10 Indian nationals being arrested every hour.
Additionally, 43,764 Indians were detained at the US-Canada border in the north, marking the highest recorded number of Indian apprehensions along this border to date.
Gujaratis make up for majority of Indians held at US borders
Sources within Indian agencies tracking illegal immigration report that roughly 50% of the Indians apprehended were from Gujarat, equating to about 10 Indian nationals being detained every hour.
Additionally, 43,764 Indians were detained at the northern US-Canada border, setting a record for the highest number of Indian apprehensions at this location.
The data also shows a slight decline from the previous year’s number of 32 lakh people, as well as a drop in the number of Indians caught along the Mexico border. In FY 2023, 96,917 illegal Indian immigrants were apprehended, whereas in 2024, fewer Indians—25,616 in total—were detained at the US-Mexico border, down from 41,770 in FY 2023.
Canadian donkey route preferred over Mexico
People have largely abandoned the “donkey route” via Mexico for two main reasons. First, the route requires them to stay in Dubai or Turkey temporarily before being transported to Mexico. However, in recent years, US agencies have closely monitored illegal immigrants in these countries and have disrupted key links in the human smuggling chain, according to the report.
Taking a cue from this, Gujaratis also started using the Canadian route as they could simply hire a taxi and enter the US due to open borders between the two nations. Although such people are caught by US authorities and sent back to Canada due to heightened vigil but try to cross over through the same border after some time.
It is also believed that the number of Indians illegally entering the US could be higher given that those who get caught might be much less than those who manage to crossover into the US.
