97,000 Indians Held Entering US Illegally In 12 Months; What Next For Them?

New York: In a staggering revelation, 96,917 Indians were apprehended for crossing into the US illegally between October 2022 and September 2023.

According to US Customs and Border Protection data, of these nearly 97,000 Indians, 30,010 were caught entering the US illegally through the Canadian border and 41,770 through Mexican border.

The rest were held after they entered the US mainland.

So many Indians have risked such hazardous options despite numerous loss of lives on America’s southern as well as northern borders.

Despite such a high number of Indians being apprehended by US authorities, however, very few are actually deported as they seek shelter citing humanitarian grounds.

The number of Indians entering the US illegally has jumped fivefold since 2019-2020, when 19,883 Indians were caught.

The actual number of people entering the US illegally could be much higher, The Times of India reported quoting a police official. For every one person caught at the border, there could be 10 others who have already managed to sneak into the US, he remarked.

Most of the Indians caught are from Gujarat and Punjab, who aspire to settle in the US.

Arrested Indians include 84,000 single adults. But what is very worrying is that there are at least 730 unaccompanied Indian children also, who are in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).