Citing data compiled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the outlet said in an Oct. 29 piece that roughly 42,000 illegal aliens from India have crossed the southern border unlawfully during the fiscal year beginning October 2022 through September 2023. The number is more than double the total recorded from the same period the previous year, as per the WSJ. Moreover, an additional 1,600 Indians have crossed from the northern border illegally – four times the total number of migrants illegally entering in the last three years. (Related: USBP agents report 743% increase in illegal migrants trying to cross northern border.)
"Since 2007, the total number of illegal border crossings by Indians in a fiscal year has exceeded 5,000 only four times," the outlet noted. "Overall, arrests for illegal border crossings surpassed two million at the end of the 2023 fiscal year, making it only the second time they have crossed that mark. The first time was in 2022."
"It really is pointing to this huge trend of mass migration worldwide," remarked Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an analyst for the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Migration Policy Institute. "We're seeing that people from other countries are making their way to the U.S. border, when traditionally they haven't."
Putzel-Kavanaugh continued that for the first time this year, migrants from countries other than four nations – Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador – are expected to have a slight majority in the total arrests of migrants unlawfully crossing for the current fiscal year when broken down by nationality. Typically, asylum-seekers often come from the four Spanish-speaking countries. But according to the WSJ, this increase is because "Indians nearly all turn themselves in to Border Patrol, rather than being arrested while evading capture, because they want to ask for asylum in the United States."
Modi's Hindu nationalist policies also a huge factor
According to the WSJ piece, many Indian migrants – with roughly 80 percent of them being single adults – illegally enter the U.S. for economic reasons. In interviews conducted post-deportation, they cite the lack of well-paying jobs in the homeland as a major reason for leaving.
But aside from this, the policies put in place by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also play a huge role in fueling this influx of migration. The outlet shared the story of 23-year-old Arshdeep Singh, a supporter of a Sikh political party in India's northwestern Punjab state. Following two threats from BJP-affiliated operatives, Singh's father made arrangements for him to leave.
His journey from his village to Fresno, California took 40 days. But others have not been as lucky.
"Some have died during the journey, including Gurupreet Kaur, a six-year-old girl from Punjab who perished in the Arizona desert in 2019. Two sets of families of four from Gujarat also died crossing the northern border in the past two years."
Immigration lawyer Deepak Ahluwalia, who represents Singh, said his client's case isn't unique. He shared to the WSJ that he is seeing an increasing number of political and religious persecution asylum cases from India, especially from the Sikh community.
Modi's handling of a year-long protest by Sikh farmers contributed to discontent within the community. He has also warned of a revival of a Sikh separatist movement in India fueled by activism on the issue by overseas Sikhs. The advocacy to establish an independent Sikh homeland dubbed Khalistan has not been warmly accepted in the Hindu-majority nation.
Visit Migrants.news for more stories about Indian migrants heading to the United States.
Watch this video about the chaos at America's southern border, which allows Indians and other illegal immigrants to enter.
This video is from the EARTH SHAKING NEWS channel on Brighteon.com.
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