Deportation effect? Illegal immigration from India to US through donkey route sees nearly 70 % drop

The number of Indians attempting to enter the US illegally via the borders with Mexico and Canada after traveling through the donkey route has seen a significant drop in the past year, data from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has shown. According to a report by Hindustan Times, between October 2025 and May 2026, there was a 69 % drop in encounters with illegal immigrants from India on the US border.

Drop in Illegal immigration from India to US

CBP data showed that between October 2025 and May 2026, it recorded 20,614 encounters with Indian migrants. The same eight-month period, in FY2023, which saw the highest number of encounters with illegal migrants from India - 67,212.

An "encounter" with an illegal (or undocumented) immigrant refers to any interaction between immigration officials and foreign nationals who are attempting to cross a border without legal authorization or remain in a country unlawfully.

An encounter encompasses two primary actions:

Apprehension: Physically taking a migrant into custody to initiate formal removal proceedings.

Expulsion/Turnback: Stopping or immediately returning individuals across the border for public health or immediate legal reasons.

Trump's deportation of illegal immigrants

Donald Trump, who made the deportation of illegal immigrants one of the cornerstones of his 2024 presidential campaign, began mass expulsions in February 2025. This included several flights to India, in which detained illegal immigrants were sent back, often handcuffed and shackled throughout their journey.

The first such deportation flight to India was on February 5, when a US military plane landed in Amritsar, with about 104 Indian nationals on board, making it the farthest deportation flight.

Since then, several military and chartered flights have flown to India with deported illegal immigrants.

In December 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs informed the Parliament that a total of 3,258 illegal immigrants from India were deported that year, the highest on record.

Illegal immigration through donkey route

According to the Pew Research Center, there are an estimated 18,000 Indian nationals living in the US illegally, making them one of the largest groups after nationals from Mexico and El Salvador.

Most of these illegal immigrants use what is often called the donkey route or ‘dunky route’ to enter the US without documents. According to authorities, these illegal immigrants pay anywhere between ₹35 lakh and ₹80 lakh to human traffickers to take them to the US. This often involves a false travel trail through multiple countries before reaching Central America.

Once they reach Latin American countries like Ecuador, Bolivia, or Guyana, the trafficked men, women and children are often made to walk for days, weeks and months through forests, swamps and terrains controlled by gangs.

The journey eventually takes them to the border with Mexico or Canada, from where they attempt to enter the US and seek asylum.