The Spirt of Reaching out to Illegal Migrants in U.S.

Someone migrated from one country to another in April 2022 and it changed the travel, migration and immigration landscape around the world. Really, I don’t know who that person is. I feel the person in question temporarily travelled from India to U.S. in April 2022 or I really don’t know which two countries those are. But the legend has it that with the travel he underwent, the migration landscape was altered dramatically in the couple of years that followed. The earth-shattering zeal it generated mobilized people to smoke out travel, migrate or take tours in those two countries in question as well as lakhs of people in other nations as well. This smoke has engulfed like some invisible fog to smoke people into doing something or the other – similar or other. Ask most Indians in U.S. who never travelled to home nation many years prior felt a sudden zeal to travel back to India, even for few weeks. Most of those I knew or worked with travelled in droves to India. Ask any airline and travel orgs which saw a surge of travel or just look at these stats. In 2022, India became for the first time Asia’s highest source of international travelers exceeding China, Japan, South Korea etc. India in 2022 ranked third among overseas travelers visiting the United States, up from eighth in 2019. U.S. embassies and consulates in India have issued 44% more non-immigrant visas in 2023 than in the same period in 2019. Flight bookings from India to the United States for the last quarter of 2023 are 26% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This international travel from India is just 1% and don’t even think about domestic travel which occupies a huge chunk at 99% of total travel and revealed some frightening trends after the person in question travelled in 2022. Given an opportunity, everyone would like to board a filght, hang on to a flight, sit on its top or its wings and travel. It’s not the question of “why him?(that person)”, it’s the question of “why not me?” and it’s burning a bit to ignite the fire and launch the travel mode. 

Consider this tip of iceberg. A Nicaragua-bound flight with over 300 passengers, most of whom were Indians, was detained by the French authorities over suspicions of human trafficking. The flight, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, was grounded by the French authorities for four days and returned to India. It was suspected that the Indian passengers planned to reach Central America from where they could attempt to enter the US or Canada illegally. But the flight was grounded after an anonymous tip indicated that the passengers were likely to be victims of human trafficking by an organized gang. The flight's connection to Nicaragua raised eyebrows, as the central American nation has seen a surge in individuals seeking asylum in the United States. According to data from the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), there has been a significant increase in Indians attempting to enter the US illegally, with 96,917 recorded in the fiscal year 2023, representing a 51.61 percent jump from the previous year. These 300 are caught, around 1 lakh Indians attempted to enter U.S. illegally in 2023, lakhs of others through proper channels and crores watching over.  

But why this one country Nicaragua can become steppingstone to U.S or Canada - of particular concern is the method employed by some migrants, known as 'donkey flights', where individuals transit through third countries with lenient travel document requirements to reach their final destinations. Nicaragua has a visa regime that is extremely relaxed, making it attractive to nationalities with passports from other countries. There are 91 countries whose passport holders can enter Nicaragua visa free. In addition, passport holders of 74 other countries can obtain a visa on arrival, with no need to apply in advance. And, since Nicaragua is north of the much-feared Darien Gap, migrants from across the globe seek to enter Nicaragua so they don’t have to travel through the Gap on their way to the U.S. border. Indeed, the impact of these new smuggling routes is serious and growing.  During 2023, the number of African and Asian migrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border tripled over 2022. 

Can you just consider the seriousness of this problem – a chartered flight to a close country like Nicaragua and from there the arduous illegal journey to Mexico and from there into the U.S. for someone from Asia could cost an upwards of rupees 10 lakhs and may take months of time and efforts. If you have 10 lakhs or more, why do you take an uncertain, illegal path, spend all your fortune and undergo this painful migration. Only God knows what goes through their minds to venture into this zone. In a gold rush, it is common in earlier years to migrate from east to west, unknowing where they will end up, but the thought is to migrate. This thought, for good or bad, is translating into determined action from lakhs of people. In particular, the past two years has seen a dramatic rise in this activity from ordinary people who can otherwise cannot enter countries like U.S. or Canada. 

Is it just from India. It is happening with people all over. Consider China. On a recent winter day, dozens of Chinese nationals waited in different makeshift camps scattered outside San Diego, California, just north of the Mexican border. Bundled in hoodies and jackets, they huddled around fires as they, and others there, counted the time before US border control agents would take them away for processing – and what they hoped would be the start to their lives in America. These arrivals are part of a staggering new trend. In the first 11 months of 2023, more than 31,000 Chinese citizens were picked up by law enforcement crossing illegally into the US from Mexico, compared with an average of roughly 1,500 per year over the preceding decade. Their numbers are still dwarfed by those from regional neighbors like Mexico, Venezuela, and Guatemala, and they are not alone in coming from other parts of the world. Many Chinese need unconventional paths which includes flights out of Asia, typically through Chinese passport-friendly countries like Turkey, into Ecuador, and then cash for overnight stays, buses, taxis, boat rides, and, typically, a guide for crossing the notoriously dense jungle of the Darien Gap connecting Colombia with Panama – through which no roads run. For many, the overland route begins in Quito, Ecuador which has become a gateway for those escaping China. In 2022, Ecuador documented around 13,000 Chinese nationals entering. In the first 11 months of 2023, that number rose to more than 45,000. The country doesn’t require visas for Chinese passport holders. In Panama, authorities have resorted to busing people from these southern border camps to their northern ones - all in the dark of night. Then it’s on through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico – if they’re not stopped by police or thieves. After scrounging together thousands more dollars to pay a smuggler to arrange a flight, some of these Chinese migrants make it to Tijuana just south of the California border. After a brief detention there, they slip through a gap in the border wall – finally reaching America. Can you imagine this journey from South America to Central America to Mexico and into the U.S. before setting off from Asia or Africa or other border nations. This is how the ordinary, poor people are taking unconventional paths to reach U.S. and realize their American dream. 

What is the U.S. action towards these migrants. These illegal migrants passing the southern border enter Texas from where since April of 2022, 1 lakh migrants are bussed to six other cities. Nearly 30 thousand are sent on bus on a 25-hour journey to Chicago in the last 20 months. The same with other cities – put on a bus and sent to big cities like New York, Washington etc. where the mayors and local governments need to care for thousands of asylum seekers by providing temporary housing etc. This bussing is a major phenomenon currently underway where every week hundreds of buses are dropping off number of passengers in these major cities. Considering the case of Chicago where I am stationed, since August of 2022, 636 buses have arrived in Chicago carrying more than 30,000 migrants from the southern border, stretching the resources of the city. Leaving the bussing which in itself is huge at 1 lakh but still lower compared to bigger picture, nearly 3.2 million migrants crossed the U.S. borders in fiscal year 2023. It is an increase of 68% compared to the year 2021 and 18% over 2022. Given the difficult path, these migrants take from south, central Americas or other parts of the world to reach north or southern borders, 32 lakh illegal migrants entering the country in one year will test its resources to provide minimum means of shelter, food and hygiene even if we leave the realization of their American dream. If these astronomical numbers are those of people who enter without documentation, those who enter through proper channels for work, study etc. are a few million more every year. Leaving the undocumented migrants, are the legal entrants, at least, are faring better in the country who needs to be accorded some due importance. These need to lead a good life, above their home nations for coming with immense hopes to U.S. and it is the prerogative of U.S. to provide all possible support to these set of people. We can look at their situation in another post, since I make up this bracket. 

Going back to the undocumented migrants, on this Martin Luther King Jr. day of the year 2024 when we are discussing about this poor migrants issue on a federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities or reflect on civil rights and racial equity issues, we need to really accommodate these citizens of God or the poor people who have a burning desire to come to U.S. as guests to bless the land. Remember, a majority of these poor don’t venture without having kindness and admiration for the top nation. The country needs to reciprocate by helping, supporting and giving them a decent life to lead and usher in a spirit of volunteerism and tackling the burning, foremost problem of the times. Remember, they might not be unintended guests but those required for the nation who can become the wheels for this country to fill a huge vacuum present here. They desperately need U.S., and the U.S. needs them as well. This should be the greatness of this country to welcome deserving people with open arms and open borders, which is a hallmark of a mature democracy. We are certainly living in those times, where it is all but natural for these lakhs of men on foot to come on a pilgrimage to the land. It is important to understand their intentions, deep connections, sentiments and become a great nation by providing a decent means of survival for these poor people. Any nation cannot stay rich if it cannot accommodate the poor. This realization of reaching out is the tribute which can be given to MLK and his dreams for this nation on his day which will move it for generations to come.