Key Points

54 men from Haryana have been deported by the United States for entering the country illegally through ‘donkey routes’. The deportees arrived at Delhi Airport on Sunday, 26 October 2025, and have since been reunited with their families.

Most of the men are youth aged between 25 and 40 – 16 are from Karnal, 15 from Kaithal, while the rest hail from various districts across Haryana like Panipat, Rohtak, Ambala, and Kurukshetra.

Speaking to ANI, Karnal DSP Sandeep Kumar made the following statement: “Today, more Indians were deported from the United States, including 50 from Haryana, with approximately 16 from Karnal district. These individuals, from various villages and towns, had entered the US illegally via the ‘donkey route’ but were deported today.”

He said that an investigation is underway, and it will be discovered if any deportee has been linked to criminal activity. No complaints have been raised against any ‘donkey’ agents yet, he added.

Deportations and Donkey Routes

This follows a crackdown by US authorities on illegal immigration since the beginning of this year. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Trump administration had deported at least 2,417 Indian citizens between January and September 2025.

A 2022 report by the US Department of Homeland Security revealed that around 2.2 lakh undocumented Indian immigrants were residing in the US. Indians make up the third largest group of illegal immigrants in the US and those illegally entering through border crossings. Most such immigrants enter the country illegally via ‘donkey routes’.

See Also: Around the World, Migrants are Being Deported at Alarming rates, How did this Become Normalised?

‘Donkey routes’ or ‘Dunki flights’ are illegal methods of entering countries by circumventing border restrictions. Most donkey flights lead to countries like the US, Canada, and the UK. These usually involve varied modes of transportation through numerous intermediary countries and terrains to get to one’s target location. These journeys come with risks of arrest, deportation, injury, and even death.

Donkey journeys are facilitated by ‘agents’ who charge exorbitant fees to smuggle migrants across borders. Many agents also exploit their clients, withholding passports and other documents in order to extort them for additional payments.

Those undertaking such journeys usually do so by selling off assets and arranging loans to pay the fees. They go through all this in the hopes of a better life. Many give up their lives in India in exchange for better job opportunities, living conditions, and more money to support their families. Punjab accounts for the highest number of migrants undertaking such journeys, with other north Indian states trailing behind.

Kaithal Deportees Speak

In conversation with BBC Punjabi, some of the deportees from Kaithal spoke about their ordeal.

Harjinder Singh is a farmer who entered the US four years ago and had worked there as a cook. He had spent around ₹35 lakh on the journey and sent money back home to support his family. He has lost all his savings as well as his income. “My hopes have been dashed, it is a pity that I could not do anything,” he said.

Naresh Kumar explained the details of his journey: “I paid ₹42 lakh by selling one acre of land. Thereafter, I paid ₹6 lakh that I borrowed on interest. My brother sold some land to raise ₹6.5 lakh. Then my relative paid ₹2.85 lakh in June. A total of ₹57 lakh was paid.”

He began his journey in January 2024 after an agent promised to send him to the US through Brazil. His relatives sent him money during the journey. But upon his arrival two months later, he was arrested. “I spent 14 months in jail and then they sent me to India,” he said.

Others revealed the perils of their passages to the US – the months of travel, the smuggling across borders, how they trekked through jungles and swam across rivers. Similarly, they detailed the hazards of their return journey – how many of them were imprisoned first, how they were handcuffed and loaded on planes, how they lost all their investments and their futures.

They advised others not to follow in their footsteps. [Rh]

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