Travellers still willing to take ‘donkey route’ to US

The US military aircraft with illegal immigrants is scheduled to land in Amritsar on Wednesday morning.
Travellers still willing to take ‘donkey route’ to US
Updated on
2 min read

CHANDIGARH: It was in November 2024, the US shared a list of 18,000 illegal migrants to be deported to India. The Indian government has said it is firmly opposed to illegal immigration and that it is ready to take them back.

The US military aircraft with illegal immigrants is scheduled to land in Amritsar on Wednesday morning.

The Punjab Police and the state government have so far not received any information about the identity of the deportees. The police are reportedly in touch with the MEA and MHA and the NIA for details.

The police are tracking files of illegal immigrants and criminals who fled to the US and have not been extradited to date. Of the 100-odd such cases, at least 20 are said to be in the US. However, they are not confident of finding such persons on the flight.

Sources said the police might get in touch with the deported persons once they land to identify the illegal travel agents who sent them abroad through the “donkey route” (originating from the Punjabi word ‘dunki’, which means hopping from place to place) and such other illegal channels by charging hefty sums of money.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the government would be “friendly” with the deportees. He, however, said, “Criminal antecedents, if any, will be checked, and due action will be taken where required. We do not know about their identity and any criminal cases against them, but are in touch with central agencies.”

The government hopes to glean information from the deportees and launch an operation to curb illegal migration.

It seems that the people are still trying to go to the US illegally through the “donkey route”, but they are now apprehensive about reaching their destination or getting caught.

Talking with this newspaper on condition of anonymity, a travel agent said that the “fly-by-night” travel agents are still operating, and the youth are falling into the trap of going abroad, especially the US.

“For the last two months, since everyone came to know that US President Donald Trump will deport illegals, there has been a considerable drop in this kind of activity because the agents are unsure if their clients can reach their destination. But the activity has not fully stopped.”

Another travel agent revealed, “They take these illegal migrants from here to Nicaragua via Amsterdam by plane. Then, for a few days, they stay in Nicaragua, and from there, they go by road to Mexico before reaching the US-Mexico border and finally try to sneak into the United States.”

According to the agent, a prospective illegal can travel without any issue to Guatemala. The charges have gone up in recent times. He added that one may end up paying in the range of Rs 45-50 lakh to reach the US without any guarantee of making it.

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com