Raped and Tortured: How Indians Go Through Hell to Enter the US Illegally

The pursuit of the American dream—a life of prosperity, success, and opportunity—has long captured the imaginations of people around the world, including countless Native Americans. To fulfill their “American dream,” thousands of Native Americans risk their lives to enter the United States illegally, taking the “Dunki Route,” which runs through dense jungles, difficult terrain, and turbulent waters. The result is that Native Americans now have the third largest group of illegal migrants to the USHowever, the journey to the US is hell.

One agent says that 10-12% of people who take the illegal route into the US die or are killed en route.

Traffickers charge around $50,000 to $100,000 per person (roughly Rs 40 lakh to 80 lakh) to smuggle illegal immigrants into the US.

Shah Rukh Khan’s movie ‘Dunki’ is based on the ‘donkey route’ or ‘donkey flight’ which thousands of Indians take every year to reach countries like the US, the UK or any other European country.

This trip includes multiple stops in different countries including Central American countries like Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala where Indian citizens can easily obtain visas. These countries, located between Mexico and South America, serve as gateways for illegal immigrants entering the US through Mexico.

From there, the illegal immigrants begin their journey, escorted by coyotes (people paid to secretly and illegally smuggle people across the border into the US) and controlled by mafia gangs.

According to a Sky News investigation, the perilous journey can take up to two years and carries numerous risks, including robbery, serious injury, rape and death at the hands of criminal gangs.

This is not the only route that illegal immigrants try to enter the US. Illegal immigrants also take a route through Canada.

Brazil is also on the list of illegal immigrants from India who use the country as a transit point to reach the US.

The routes and their level of difficulty depend on the amount paid by the illegal immigrant.

According to a 2022 report from the Pew Research Center, there are about 725,000 illegal Indian immigrants in the USmaking them the third largest group, after those from Mexico and El Salvador.

A record 96,917 Indians arrested or expelled in 2023 for attempting to enter the U.S., according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Thousands more might have successfully made it to the U.S.

DUNKI ROUTE: RISKY JOURNEY BUT LUCRATIVE BUSINESS

The ‘Dunki route’ has become a lucrative business, with smugglers charging fees ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 per person (roughly Rs 40 lakh to 80 lakh).

Subhash Kumar, a 36-year-old illegal migrant, says he used his savings and borrowed money to pay a gang $50,000 so he could reach the US.

However, after paying the money, he was flown to Kathmandu, Nepal, where he was kidnapped and held for ransom.

According to Sky News, the gang created fake boarding passes and visas using false backgrounds to make it appear as if the man had arrived at the US border.

The trade is so popular that thousands of traders are involved, most of whom are from the northern Indian states, particularly Punjab and Haryana, Sky News reported.

INDIANS SELL LAND, JEWELRY DRAWN BY AMERICAN DREAM

The desperation to reach the US and fulfill the American Dream is driven by high unemployment, stagnant incomes and distress in India’s rural economy. Many families sell their land, jewelry and even their homes to pay for these illegal migration services.

The risks involved in this journey are considerable. Illegal migrants risk being caught, tortured, imprisoned or even dying during their journey.

In 2022, a couple and their two children froze to death near the US-Canada borderand another family drowned while trying to enter the United States from Canada by boat on the St. Lawrence River.

Joginder (name changed), a human trafficker, says that 10% to 12% of migrants die or are killed en route because they do not pay the required fees.

“I send about 500 migrants every season, and there are three seasons in a year,” Joginder told Sky News.

Indian authorities have begun to crack down on smuggling networks, but the scale of the problem is overwhelming.

“This year we have registered 46 criminal cases and arrested 75 people involved. People abroad are uploading pictures of themselves with big bungalows and cars and the youth are getting attracted and want the same,” said Superintendent Upasana.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHAME STORIES

The stories of those who have undertaken this journey are moving.

According to The New York Times, migrant women and girls at the U.S.-Mexico border face widespread sexual assaults that often go unreported and unpunished.

Undocumented women who travel to the US border are brutally treated by smugglers, including being beaten, raped, forced into prostitution and chained.

“One in three women is sexually assaulted during the perilous journey through Mexico,” former President Donald Trump said, the New York Times reported.

“The mafia controls the borders. There are many wrong incidents on the route and terrible things happen to women, I can’t say that here. But they have to go through it to reach America,” Joginder told Sky News, referring to the sexual assaults.

Malkeet Singh, a 30-year-old technology graduate, was killed by human traffickers while trying to reach the US. To achieve his dreams, his family sold their belongings to pay the traffickers. He traveled to Doha, Almaty, Istanbul, Panama City and then reached El Salvador.

He was unable to achieve his American Dream and was murdered. His body was later identified via a social media post.

Another illegal migrant, Sahil, went missing while trying to reach the US. Now his 45-year-old father, Shiv Kumar, is looking for his 19-year-old son.

The fact that the dream is going through a living hell doesn’t stop thousands of people from risking everything to reach the US, if they survive.