The dream of a better life in America turned into a nightmare for 104 Indian migrants who returned home after facing hardship due to Donald Trump's tough policies on illegal immigration.
New Delhi:
Long flights to South America, perilous sea voyages in rickety boats, hazardous treks through treacherous landscapes, dark detention cells at the US-Mexico border, and a deportation flight back to India – the promised American dream collapsed for 104 Indian migrants who returned after US President Donald Trump’s stringent immigration measures.
Harvinder Singh, from Punjab’s Tahli village in Hoshiarpur, was promised a work visa in the US by an agent to whom he paid Rs 42 lakh. At the last moment, he was informed that the visa was not granted and was instead sent on a series of flights from Delhi to Qatar, then to Brazil. In Brazil, he was told a flight from Peru would take him to the US, but that did not happen. He was then taken by taxi to Colombia and further into Panama, only to be told there would be a ship to transport them – but no ship appeared. Thus began their long, arduous journey, where they walked for two days over mountains.
Singh and the others were eventually placed in a small boat for a perilous sea voyage to the Mexico border. The boat capsized during the four-hour journey, causing one person to drown. Another died in the Panama jungle. The migrants survived on small amounts of rice.
Sukhpal Singh from Darapur village endured a similar plight, traveling 15 hours by sea and walking 40-45 km through hills with dangerous valleys. If someone was hurt, they were abandoned to perish.he shared. The journey ended when he was arrested in Mexico, just before crossing into the US. “We were kept in a dark cell for 14 days with no sunlight. There are thousands of Punjabi boys, families, and children in similar conditions,” he said, urging others not to take illegal routes.
A US military aircraft brought back 104 illegal immigrants from various states and landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, marking the first group of Indians deported under Trump’s policies. Among them were 33 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, and others from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh. Among those deported were 19 women and 13 children, including a four-year-old boy and two girls, aged five and seven.
Jaspal Singh, one of the deportees, shared that their hands and feet were shackled for the entire journey, with restraints removed only upon arrival in Amritsar. He had been assured by a travel agent that he would enter the US legally for Rs 30 lakh. He was detained by the US Border Patrol after six months in Brazil.
Kanubhai Patel, whose daughter was among the deported, explained that she had traveled to Europe on vacation with friends. "We have no clue how she arrived in the United States," he said.
Many families of the illegal immigrants, especially from Punjab, took large loans to fund their relatives’ travel to America, hoping for a bright future. Now, they are left with mounting debt. "We sold everything we had and borrowed money at high interest rates, hoping for a better future.But the agent misled us," said Harvinder Singh’s wife, Kuljinder Kaur.In Kapurthala, Gurpreet Singh’s family had mortgaged their home to send him abroad, while in Fatehgarh Sahib, Jaswinder Singh’s family spent Rs 50 lakh for the same reason. They now face huge debts with no way out.
The Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, and Nawanshahr districts are known as the ‘NRI Belt’ in Punjab, where many people migrate abroad every year seeking better opportunities.
