The Question is... How Do Agents Trick Hundreds to Migrate Illegally via ‘Dunki’ Routes?
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Dear Reader,
Last month, 388 Indians were deported from the US as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration. You must have spotted photographs of Indians in shackles, being flown from the US in huge military aircraft. Nearly 40% of the deportees belonged to Punjab, followed by 34% from Haryana.
While the unusual conditions in which Indians were deported captured slots in prime-time news debates, my investigation delves deep into the dark underbelly of illegal immigration networks. Fraudulent travel agents and trafficking syndicates continue to enable illegal immigration to the US through elaborate 'dunki' routes for exorbitant sums of money.
A disturbing case that I came across was that of 40-year-old Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district of Punjab. He claimed to have crossed 12 countries — i.e. a good 28,000 km — over a span of seven months before he reached the US-Mexico border. He was detained by the Border Patrol just an hour after he illegally entered. He paid Rs 45 lakh, or 45 times the cost of a direct flight to the US. And this heartbreaking reality was faced by hundreds of Indians.
The questions that arise here are: how do agents find their targets, and how do people fall prey to such scams?
In a quest to find answers, I accessed First Information Reports (FIRs) filed by eight deportees in Punjab and scanned through their statements to look for common patterns. I discovered that most complainants were from rural areas and were educated only till Class 10 or 12. They were approached with the offer to emigrate by friends, relatives, or acquaintances.
An NGO, that helps deportees and survivors of cross-border trafficking, told me of a disturbing trend in Punjab: fraudulent agents seem to be lurking near gurdwaras, targeting desperate individuals who come to pray for visas. Once they find their target, they lay a web of deceit — frequenting his/her house, convincing him/her to sell his/her assets and securing loans against his/her house — promising to send the individual abroad. Eager to break away from poverty or for a better-paying job (and, in turn, better prospects), aspiring migrants end up giving their all.
The question, then, is why these fraud agents manage to escape legal action?
For this I reached out to several deportees who instantly denied speaking to the media. A few who did speak to me said that they were mentally disturbed by what they saw on the journey and that they are now burdened with tremendous debt, struggling to survive. Apart from the stigma, they were reluctant to talk fearing threat from the agents as well as their own culpability in the matter.
Read my story here. You can also watch the video, where we map out the deportees' treacherous journey, enabled by traffickers and smugglers.
Duped & Deported: How Agents Trick Hundreds to Migrate to US Via 'Dunki' Routes
We spent over a month doing research for the story, reaching out to deportees, speaking to experts and bringing it to life through a compelling video. But we cannot do this vital work without your support. Become a member of The Quint* today and empower us to continue bringing you in-depth reports like this.
Thank you,
AAKRITI HANDA
Special Correspondent
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