What’s the cost of the American Dream? For many Indians, it’s between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1 crore

“I had hopes for my son’s future and a new life in the US. My family took a huge loan to pay the agent, hoping we would have a better future. Now, everything is destroyed.”

“We have now lost our house, as we took a loan of Rs 45 lakh from relatives, friends and others to send him. Now, we can only survive if the government helps us. Else, it is all over.”

Despair, desolation and despondency… These are three words to describe the emotions of the 104 Indians , who were deported from the United States on Wednesday (February 5), after trying to immigrate illegally. Following their return and processing in Amritsar, after they were flown in on a US military aircraft, bound in shackles, they now share the devastating financial and emotional toll of their attempts to secure their American Dream.

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An anguished homecoming

On February 5, a C-17 US military aircraft, which had earlier taken off from San Antonio, Texas, landed at the Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar. This plane carried 104 deported Indian migrants — a first in the second Trump administration.

On their arrival in Amritsar, a video emerged of them being handcuffed and shackled , as they made their way back home, causing much furore and anger among politicians, which prompted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to make a statement in Parliament.

USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals.

If you cross illegally, you will be removed. pic.twitter.com/WW4OWYzWOf

— Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) February 5, 2025

Of the 104 who returned, 33 were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. Furthermore, a Times of India report later stated that of those deported, 79 were men while 25 were women. There were also 13 minors — six girls and seven boys — aged between four and 17 among the returnees.

Many of them have now shared the pain and the emotional trauma they endured to reach the American shores; their tales are harrowing and disturbing. As one deportee from Punjab recounted how he had to go through a 15-hour boat journey and was forced to walk 40-45 kilometres. “We crossed 17-18 hills. If one slipped, there would be no chance of survival… We have witnessed a lot. If anyone got injured, they were left to die. We saw dead bodies,” he said.

Harpreet Laliya, alias Roshan, from Nagpur, had a similar distressing account of trying to reach America. Today, he’s haunted by memories of walking long distances on an empty stomach and even seeing a fellow illegal immigrant shot dead by the trafficking mafia.

Spending life’s earnings, taking out loans

But for the deported Indians, it’s not just the economic trauma they endured all in the hopes of reaching the ‘land of the free’ — America. Most of them shelled out exorbitant amounts of money to agents and the trafficking mafia to get them to the US.

Take the story of Lovepreet Kaur and her 10-year-old son. The woman from Punjab said that she paid an astronomical sum of Rs one crore to an agent for what was promised to be a direct route to the US.

Speaking to the Indian Express, she said: “The agent told our family they would take us directly to the US. But what we endured was far from what we expected.”

“We were flown to Medellin in Colombia and kept there for nearly two weeks before being moved to San Salvador (capital of El Salvador) in a flight. From there, we walked for over three hours to Guatemala, then travelled by taxi to the Mexican border. After staying in Mexico for two days, we finally crossed over to the US on January 27,” she recounts to the Indian newspaper.

But all her efforts turned to naught as she was caught by US authorities and detained. Her dreams of securing a better future for her son turned to ashes. But that’s not all. She now has a huge debt on her shoulders — her family had taken a huge loan to pay the agent.

“I am left with nothing but pain. The government needs to get our money back from these criminals who promised us a new life but left us stranded in foreign lands,” she was quoted telling the Indian Express.

But Lovepreet’s story is not singular. Daler Singh, a resident of Punjab, has nothing but shattered dreams. Recounting his misery, he says, “I have lost my entire life earnings. My dreams are shattered.”

After paying Rs 39 lakh, which he funded by mortgaging his family’s jewellery and all his land, he began his journey with a flight to Dubai last August. From there, he landed in Mexico and finally reached the US after a days-long trek. But, US authorities detained him on January 15.

Pradeep Singh’s family is inconsolable. Hailing from the Jaraut village of Mohali, 21-year-old Singh left for the US six months ago with big dreams. However, he’s now back in India after being caught by US officials.

Pradeep’s return has, however, been a costly affair. His mother told the Indian Express that they had spent around Rs 40 after selling half of their five-acre land to get Pradeep to America. His father, Kuldeep Singh Kala, said his son is in shock. “I am an illiterate farmer. Now only two-and-a-half acres of land is left with me. He had gone after consulting his mother and around Rs 42 lakh has gone down the drain,” said Kala.

A Gujarati family, who is among the deported, claimed they had paid a whopping Rs one crore to reach the US.

Another man, a resident from Punjab’s Gurdaspur, says that he met an agent through Facebook who took Rs 40 lakh from him to help him “achieve his dream of a better life.”

#WATCH | Gurdaspur, Punjab: An illegally migrated Indian citizen who was deported by US, says, " I left for UK, 2.5 years ago and then I went to Europe and my agent made me take 'Dunki route...I spent Rs 40 lakhs...the journey was not very smooth, I took the forest route and… pic.twitter.com/j8xLdvrWah

— ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2025

“I left for the United Kingdom, two-and-a-half years ago and then I went to Europe and my agent made me take ‘Dunki’ route… I spent Rs 40 lakh… the journey was not very smooth, I took the forest route and faced so many issues,” he told ANI.

“I stayed in England for two years… I took the agent’s number through Facebook. I went there for my livelihood,” he continued. According to the man, he stayed in the US for 11 days before being arrested and deported.

Tragically, most of those who were deported share similar tales — where they spent anything between Rs 30 lakh and Rs one crore for their American Dream.

A lucrative and booming business

Some agents, who facilitate these ‘donkey route’ journeys of desperate Indians, have said that it’s a lucrative business for them, estimated to be worth a billion dollars.

One agent previously told Sky News that he sends about 500 hopefuls from India in one season and there are three such seasons in the year. In fact, India is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the US. As per one report, more than 700,000 Indians without legal status were living in the US as of 2022. Moreover, a record 96,917 Indians were caught or expelled in 2023, trying to cross into the US, up from 30,662 in 2021, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
The agent further noted that the demand among Indians to travel to the US and settle there is so high that it has spawned thousands of traffickers, mostly in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.

Immigration experts also note that the business of illegal immigration will continue to thrive owing to the demand from Indians as well as the lack of fear among the agents. One official explained that most of these Indian hopefuls even when duped by these agents don’t approach law enforcement officials owing to their own fear.

Another Punjabi agent was quoted as telling Washington Post, “Until US visas are more available the demand-and-supply chain will remain, like a mother and father. Those who want to go will find any way to reach. It doesn’t matter which route you show them.”

With inputs from agencies