Deportees from US renew foreign dreams: From 'IELTS bride’ to trusting agents again, stories of desperation
Tracking deportees on another journey back to the US or to Canada, Europe, Gulf or Australia as the incentive to head abroad remains high; many face heavy debt
Some of them took loans, others took death risks with it, to somehow reach the United States of America. But when US President Donald Trump went hammer and tongs deporting illegal immigrants as he returned to power this year, they were evicted, shackled and disgraced.
Nearly half of those deported are from Punjab and Haryana. Foreign ministry data shows that of the 1,703 Indians deported so far this year, 620, the highest number in the country, are from Punjab.
The notorious ‘donkey route’ had landed them in US detention centres, but that has not deterred them from dreaming again of settling abroad. These dreams can be attributed to desperation. Most of these deportees are trapped in a web of debt and deceit.
Many are now planning journeys back to the US, or want to go to Canada, Europe, the Gulf or Middle East, or Australia instead. When contacted by HT, many deportees said they were still in touch with their agents.
'Exploring legal routes now'
Harwinder Singh, 43, of a village in Hoshiarpur was among the first batch of 104 to be deported by the Trump administration on February 5. He has now gone on a tourist visa to a European country that his family refused to name. His wife is still back home. “My husband was depressed for months after being sent back from the US. He was adamant on going abroad and has made another attempt,” said Kuljinder Kaur.
She said the same agent who sent him to the US via the “donkey (or ‘dunki’) route” — through Qatar, Brazil, Peru and Panama — now arranged his trip to Europe. Last time, the family paid ₹42 lakh to the agent. His wife is tightlipped on the amount spent.
Amit Badhan, 23, of Bilga in Jalandhar is now exploring legal ways to migrate and has tapped a registered agent. “We learnt our lesson the hard way. I still want to go abroad but this time legally to any immigrant-friendly country,” said Badhan.
Last time he found the agent on Instagram, whom he is unable to track down. “I lost touch with the agent when I reached Mexico in January. I only had his contact number, which is now invalid,” he said.
He said it took him two months to step out of his house due to the social stigma after he was deported in February.
How an English language test means ticket to life abroad
In Punjab's Majha region bordering Pakistan, after losing ₹55 lakh to a travel agent who promised to get him settled in the US, the parents of Akashdeep Singh, 23, now plan to send him to Australia.
Their plan is to get him married to a woman who has the required ‘bands’ or score in the English language test IELTS for a student visa.
Akashdeep, who belongs to the border village of Rajatal in Amritsar, was among the first batch of Indians deported by the US on February 5. His parents had sold two of the 2.5 acres to fund his dollar dreams.
“He was in shock for several months after being deported. He had endured an eight-month-long struggle to reach the US but it all came to nought. He now helps me in farming and other household chores,” his father, Swaran Singh, told HT.
“But we are under heavy debt. We have repeatedly asked the travel agent to repay at least a portion of the amount, but he has not returned anything. He keeps making promises. We don’t plan to lodge a complaint as we are hopeful that he will return the money,” he added.
He detailed the plans now, “Now we are thinking about sending our son to Australia by getting him married to a woman having the required IELTS bands. He will pursue higher education there before trying for a job. There is no employment opportunity here for him.”
Akashdeep had tried to go to Canada on a study permit but failed to score the required IELTS bands. He went to Dubai on a work permit, from where he headed to the US through the donkey route.
Gulf the next destination
Similarly deported but undeterred, Mandeep Singh, 29, from Chohla Sahib in Tarn Taran district plans to go to Dubai in search of a job. He said he has been unable to find a steady source of income over the past six months in Punjab.
Also, he needs to earn enough to pull his family out of heavy debt.
On his complaint, the police registered a case against the travel agent who sent him to the US through the donkey route. “However, they are not taking the case seriously and have made no effort to arrest the agent," alleged Mandeep’s father, Naunihal Singh.
“I run a small sanitary shop, which gets us limited returns. My son is jobless, so I’m gearing up to send him to Dubai,” he said.
Mandeep went to Spain in 2022, then in September 2024 he left for the US. He reached the US border in four months after a journey of hardships. His father said they paid ₹35 lakh to the agent through loans and by selling a residential plot.
Haryana man now in Canada: ‘He will soon send us money’
In another case, from Haryana, 20-yearold Akash Rana from Kalram village of Karnal is back abroad, this time in Canada. “Akash was eager to go back despite the grim reality during his return from the US. He reached Canada in June and is living happily,” elder brother Shubham Rana said.
Akash was among the 33 deportees from Haryana in the first US aircraft that landed at Amritsar on February 5. He had landed in the US illegally just 11 days before he was deported.
Shubham said he sold two acres to arrange the money and spent nearly ₹45 lakh. “Our father died in 2006 and our mother remains unwell. It was getting difficult to make ends meet. So, we sent Akash to the US so that he could help the family,” he added.
The family did not pursue a police case against the travel agent and managed to get a refund of nearly ₹14 lakh. “I arranged more money and ensured that my younger brother landed in Canada safely. He will soon get good work and send us money."
