There has been a huge increase in the number of illegal Indian immigrants coming into the U.S. through the northern U.S.-Canada border. This is because of tighter security at the southern U.S.-Mexico border, which forces them to look for other, more dangerous paths. This change shows how more and more people are using Canada as a way to get to the U.S., even though it’s dangerous and could kill them.

In the past few years, more and more Indian refugees have been going to the northern border, where large areas are only lightly guarded. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data shows that the number of meetings with Indian refugees at the U.S.-Canada border has gone through the roof, from about 2,200 in 2021 to over 30,000 in 2023. More Indian refugees were seen at the northern border than at the southern border in the first half of 2023: 22,399 times compared to 11,053 times at the southern border.

What Caused the Surge

Experts say that the new police tactics of the U.S. government are to blame for the rise in people crossing the northern border. In December 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law steps to make the southern border safer and limit who could get refuge. Because of these changes, a lot of Indian migrants are now focusing on the northern path, which is less often monitored.

A senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute named Muzaffar Chishti said that many migrants, especially those who can get a visa to enter Canada, think the northern road is a better choice. “People who can get to Canada with a visa are more likely to try the northern route than the southern because it is not as intensely patrolled,” she said. “The moment we started seeing a reduction in numbers at the southern border, we started seeing an increase in numbers at the northern border.”

Looking for Better Chances

Many Indian people move to the U.S. in search of better jobs and more stable economic conditions for themselves and their families. A study from the Pew Research Center in 2022 said that there are about 725,000 Indians living in the U.S. without papers, making them the third-largest group of illegal immigrants.

Pawan Dhingra, an immigration expert from Amherst College, says that Indian refugees often tell their families about their experiences, which inspires other people to do the same. “Once some people find a pathway here by crossing the border, they communicate that back to their families at home, who feel more reason and motivation to undertake it themselves,” Dhingra said.

There are, however, big risks on the trip. Some families have paid runners and middlemen tens of thousands of dollars, but they often didn’t get a promise that they would get through safely. “There is the risk of paying someone to take you basically nowhere, or the risk of assault and harassment on the route, especially for women,” she said.

Dangers that could kill you

The dangerous trip through Canada’s woods and on trails that aren’t marked has ended in tragedy. Eight people who were trying to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada were found dead in the St. Lawrence River in March 2023. Among them was a family of four from India. In a different sad case, a family of four from Gujarat, India, died of cold just meters from the border between the United States and Canada in January 2022.

With Jagdish Patel, 39, as their leader, the family wanted to move to the U.S. so their children could get a better education and they could find more work. Patel’s story is like that of many Indian immigrants who come to the U.S. to make money instead of to escape oppression. “It’s not people who are starving who are coming to the U.S. looking for asylum,” Chishti said. One of the biggest problems in India is that trained people can’t find work.

India has a very high jobless rate, even among people with advanced degrees. This has caused many people to leave the country in search of better chances, even though it is dangerous to do so. “There are a large number of people with graduate degrees who do not have work … there are just not enough jobs,” Chishti said.

1: The “Donkey Route” and Networks for Smuggling

Getting to the U.S. is often hard because you have to go through several countries on what is called the “donkey route.” This dangerous path has hikes through woods and countries with rough terrain. Earlier this year, Panama sent back 130 Indian immigrants who had come to the country through the dangerous Darien Gap, a path through the jungle that connects Colombia to Panama.

Since then, Panama has added more repatriation trips to India, China, and Ecuador in an effort to cut down on people coming to the U.S. illegally. Also, in December 2022, a flight from Dubai to Nicaragua with more than 300 Indians on board was stopped in France because of worries about illegal immigration and people smugglers.

Canada as a Start Point

Canadian visa procedures have made the country more appealing to Indians who want to move there. It can take up to 80 days to get a visit visa for Canada, but up to a year in Delhi to get an appointment for a U.S. visa. A lot of immigrants use Canada as a way to get to the U.S., especially if they can’t get residency in Canada because of a huge backlog of visas.

Because of the backlog and delays in Canada’s immigration system, many Indian refugees are thinking about moving into the U.S., where they may already have family or community ties. Dhingra made it clear that “the legal ways to enter the country are not growing.” “More people will come if the legal routes don’t get better. They will still come, they will just find other ways to do it.”

Final Thoughts

The rise in Indian immigrants trying to get into the U.S. through Canada is due to changes in border security, economic hardship, and the desire to find better chances. But the dangerous trip north comes with a lot of risks, as shown by the sad deaths of several Indian families. Since migration paths are changing and border controls are getting stricter, the trend of refugees using the northern border is likely to continue. This will cause problems for both countries.