Attempts by more Indians to enter the US without legal documents

The number of Indians reaching the US border without a visa has seen an extraordinary increase during the year 2022. The middle class in India is progressing, so why are Indians taking the risk of moving to America illegally?

India, the second largest populous country in the world, has a growing middle class. In such a situation, the number of Indian citizens who arrived in the US illegally or without travel documents increased dramatically last year. After all, why are these people willing to take the risks of illegally arriving in the United States?

Indian-Americans are seen as a ‘model’ for immigrants in the US. According to the data of the US Customs and Border Patrol, there was an extraordinary increase in the number of Indian citizens trying to enter the US illegally last year, 2022, and this number was 63 thousand 900. It was twenty seven. Which was double compared to 2021. It should be noted that the southern border of the United States, which meets Mexico, is the main point of arrival of asylum seekers.

According to the 2022 report of the US Migration Policy Institute (MPI), from October 2021 to September 2022, US border officials stopped Indian migrants 18,300 times at the US southern border. That was an increase of 2,600 over the previous year.

Lupita Nath, professor of history and Asian studies at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, said the increase could tarnish the positive immigration image of Indians in the US.

Speaking to DW, he said, “If the number continues to grow as fast as it is growing now, the Indian diaspora in the US will not be very happy about it, because it is legal. It is also a source of stigma for resident immigrants.”

According to the report of America’s “Migration Policy Institute” (MPI), there were 2.7 million Indian immigrants living in America by 2021. Most of the Indian immigrants to the US are highly educated and skilled for whom their employers arrange H-1B temporary visas. In terms of the number of foreign students in American universities, Indian students are also at the second place. According to this report, compared to citizens of other countries, the rate of citizens of Indian origin coming to the United States and taking American citizenship has been low so far.

Rohat Biswas, a lawyer and expert on immigration laws based in New York, told Deutsche Welle that as the rules for obtaining citizenship or citizenship in the United States are becoming stricter, so are the illegal entry of Indians into the United States or visas on their behalf. The chances of violation of laws are increasing.

On the other hand, the chairman of the International Institute of Migration and Development based in the southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram, S. Arudia Rajan, said that strict visa rules in the United States and organized networks of migrant smuggling are also contributing to this increase.

According to the “Migration Policy Institute” of America, Indian immigrants are present in large numbers in the American labor market. Both Nath and Rajan said the recent emergence of a new middle class in India has allowed more residents to bear the costs of migration.