The pursuit of the American dream, a life of prosperity, success and opportunities, has long attracted people from across the world. This includes countless Indians. To fulfill their ‘American dream’, thousands of Indian citizens have been risking their lives to reach the United States illegally, using the ‘Dunky Route’ that passes through dense forests, difficult terrain and rough waters. As a result, Indians now represent the third largest group of illegal immigrants in the US. However, the journey to America is a hell of a journey.
An agent revealed that 10-12 percent of people who enter America illegally either die or are killed on the way. Human traffickers charge about 50 thousand to one lakh dollars (about 40 lakh to 80 lakh rupees) per person to take illegal immigrants to America.
Thousands of Indians take the donkey route
Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Dunky’ is based on the ‘Dunky Route’ or ‘Dunky Flight’ which thousands of Indians take every year to reach the US, UK or any other European country.
This journey involves several stops through various countries, including Central American countries like Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala, where Indian citizens can easily obtain visas. These countries, located between Mexico and South America, serve as entry gates for illegal immigrants entering the US via Mexico.
Sky News According to an investigation by the US, this dangerous journey can take up to two years. It carries many risks, including robbery, serious injuries, rape and death at the hands of criminal gangs. This is not the only route through which illegal immigrants try to enter the US. Illegal immigrants also take a route through Canada.
Brazil is also included in the list of countries that come in the way to reach America. People going there are using this country as a transit point. The routes and their difficulties depend on the amount paid by the illegal immigrant.
Pew Research Centre According to a 2022 report by the US, there are about 725,000 unauthorized Indian immigrants in the US, making them the third-largest group after Mexico and El Salvador.
According to data from US Customs and Border Protection, a record 96,917 Indians were caught or deported while trying to enter the US in 2023. Thousands more may have managed to successfully enter the US.
Donkey Route: A risky journey but a profitable business
The ‘Dunki Route’ has become a lucrative business, with smugglers charging between $50,000 and $100,000 (roughly Rs. 40 lakhs and Rs. 80 lakhs) per person. 36-year-old illegal migrant Subhash Kumar said he spent his savings and borrowed money to pay $50,000 to a gang to help him reach the US.
However, after paying the money, he was taken to Kathmandu, Nepal, where he was kidnapped and held for ransom. Sky News According to the report, the gang made fake boarding passes and visas, used false backgrounds and made it look like they had reached the US border. This business is so popular that thousands of smugglers are involved in it. Sky News According to him, most of these smugglers belong to North Indian states, especially Punjab and Haryana.
Also read: Why did the discussion about ‘Donkey Route’ start?
People are selling their land and jewelry to reach the US
The desperation to reach the US and fulfill the ‘American dream’ is driven by unemployment, low incomes and distress in the rural economy in India. Many families sell their land, jewelry and even their homes to pay for these illegal migration services.
The risks involved in this journey are enormous. Illegal migrants face the risk of being caught, tortured, imprisoned, or even killed during their journey.
In 2022, a couple and their two children died of cold near the US-Canada border and another family drowned while trying to enter the US from Canada by boat across the St Lawrence River. One smuggler, Joginder (name changed), revealed that 10 per cent to 12 per cent of migrants die on the way or are killed because of not paying the required fee. “I send about 500 migrants every season and there are three seasons in a year,” Joginder told Sky News.
Indian authorities have begun to crack down on smuggling networks, but the scale of the problem remains enormous. “This year we have filed 46 criminal cases and arrested 75 people involved,” said Superintendent Upasana.
Also read: Desire to go to America… Husband and wife became old people by doing makeup, were preparing to go to America via ‘Donkey Route’
Horror stories of illegal immigrants
The stories of those who attempt this journey are horrifying. At the US-Mexico border, migrant women and girls face widespread sexual abuse that often goes unreported and unpunished, according to The New York Times. Women who travel illegally to the US border endure brutal treatment from smugglers, including beatings, rape, forced prostitution and being held in shackles.
The New York Times “One in three women is sexually assaulted on the dangerous route to Mexico,” former President Donald Trump said, according to the report.
Joginder filed a case in connection with the sexual assault Sky News “The mafia controls the borders. There are many bad things that happen along the way and terrible things happen to women, I can’t say it all here. But they have to go through all this to reach the US,” he told Reuters.
Also read: Father took loan to get his son’s body… went to America via donkey route, died of heart attack
Malkit Singh, a 30-year-old technology graduate student, was killed by smugglers while trying to reach the US. To fulfill his dream, his family sold off assets to pay smugglers. He traveled to Doha, Almaty, Istanbul, Panama City and then El Salvador.
He could not fulfill his American dream and was killed. His body was later identified through social media posts. Another illegal immigrant Sahil went missing while trying to reach the US. Now, his 45-year-old father Shiv Kumar is searching for his 19-year-old son.
This dream of reaching America goes through a hell, but this does not stop thousands of people who put everything at stake to reach America.
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