The terrifying risks Indians are taking to reach the US illegally
Indian families have reportedly frozen to death, drowned and been kidnapped by their smugglers as they tried to reach the US – and the number of those willing to risk their lives in their desperate quest is growing.
Indians are now the third largest group of illegal migrants to America.
According to a 2022 report by Pew Research Centre, there are 725,000 unauthorised Indian immigrants in the US, making them the third largest group after those from Mexico and El Salvador.
Last year, the US Border Protection Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, apprehended 96,917 Indians – a number that has tripled in just two years. And these are just the ones who got caught.
They go to any lengths, putting their lives in the hands of criminal gangs, to reach the shores of America. Some were kidnapped, others killed by the criminal gangs that had promised to smuggle them into the US.
A couple and their two children froze to death just a few metres from the US-Canada border in 2022, according to Sky News’ US affiliate NBC and other reports. Another family drowned trying to enter the United States from Canada by boat across the St Lawrence River, local media said.
Lucrative racket
Trafficker Joginder said ‘If I don’t do it then someone else will’
The racket is estimated to be worth a billion dollars, with each hopeful paying anything from $50,000 (£38,000) to $100,000 (£76,000) for the chance to reach that dream destination.
The trade is so lucrative and demand insatiable that there are now thousands of traffickers involved, mostly in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.
Last December a chartered plane to Nicaragua made a technical stop at Valery Airport in France. Authorities detained all 303 Indian passengers onboard, suspecting they were being trafficked.
Joginder (not his real name), a trafficker, told Sky News: “I send about 500 every season, and there are three seasons in a year.
“Ask anyone who has a big house and they will say their child is abroad. It’s a fashion, a competition. Families sell their land, jewellery and even their homes to send.”
Joginder said that [not all] “reach their destination as 10 to 12% die on the way or are killed for not paying”.
He said: “The mafia control the borders. On the route many wrong incidents take place, and terrible things happen to women, I can’t say it here. But they have to bear it to reach America.
“We also feel the pain. For the family who loses someone, the pain is much more. But both feel pain. But it’s business, they want to go and I send them.”
‘Dunki flights’
‘Dunki flights’, a Punjabi phrase for ‘hopping routes’, is the most widespread means used.
Smugglers send migrants to countries with lax visa rules or easy access like Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, or Guatemala. From here they begin their long trek led by coyotes and controlled by criminal gangs.
The routes and their difficulties depend on the amount of money paid. Payments are made at predetermined stages during the journey, with the final amount handed over at the US border.
Indian authorities have recently started a crackdown on smuggler networks. But the pace and scale are overwhelming.
Ms Upasana, superintendent of police, in Kaithal, Haryana, tells Sky News: “It’s now a culture where people feel a sense of pride that their child is abroad.
“This year we have registered 46 criminal cases and arrested 75 people involved.
“Those abroad upload photos of themselves with big bungalows and cars and the youth get attracted and want the same.
“Children tell their parents, ‘Either I die or you send me’.”
‘I had lost all hope of living’
Subhash Kumar paid a gang $50,000 and was flown to Kathmandu, where he was kidnapped, threatened and held for ransom
One of those who tried, 36-year-old Subhash Kumar, says he’s lucky to be alive and wishes to erase the few weeks of his attempt at a ‘dunki flight’.
He spent his savings and borrowed money to pay a gang $50,000. He was flown to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, where he was kidnapped, threatened and held for ransom on the outskirts of the city.
The gang used forged boarding passes and visas and filmed with false backgrounds to fake his arrival at the US border. The family paid the final amount to the traffickers.
“They would put a knife to my throat and threaten me to confirm things. I had lost all hope of living,” Mr Kumar said.
“I just wanted to speak to my wife and children for the last time. I was a dead man there. I had no hope.
“They even played airport announcements in the background while we spoke to our family, to show we had reached foreign cities.”
He was eventually rescued, along with 10 other Indians, when police, acting on a tip-off, raided the building and arrested the kidnappers.
But many are not as lucky.
‘Killed for money’
Malkeet Singh, a 30-year-old technology graduate, dreamed of going to America.
The family sold property and took loans to pay traffickers. He travelled to Doha, Almaty, Istanbul, Panama City and reached El Salvador.
He told his younger brother Rajiv they would begin trekking to Guatemala the next day.
Malkeit Singh reached El Salvador before his family lost contact with him
On 7 March all contact was lost. Three weeks later the family identified his body from a video posted on social media.
Rajiv said: “My brother was killed for money, the mafia gangs involved were robbing them and fired on the people and shot him.
“Whenever I spoke to my brother, he said that these traffickers would often steal and extort from people.”
The family lodged a case against the trafficker, who was caught and jailed – and eventually returned the money.
Blood money – recompense given to the relatives of someone who has been killed – was paid and the family withdrew the case.
For 45-year-old Shiv Kumar, it’s been a never-ending search for his 19-year-old son Sahil.
A life’s savings were spent in paying smugglers but Sahil’s last message – about starting the second leg of his journey – was from Libya almost a year ago.
Sahil Kumar’s last message – about starting the second leg of his journey – was from Libya almost a year ago
Mr Kumar regularly scans the news about migrant journeys. He filed a case against the trafficker who was caught and imprisoned – but is now out on bail. He’s reached out to all agencies, state and central government – the family is desperate for closure.
“Only a family knows what it’s going through when their son is lost.
“Every human being should have the satisfaction of knowing what happened to their child. Until today we don’t know if he’s dead or alive.”
Inequality driving the trend
Even as India registers one of the fastest economic growths and is the fifth-largest economy in the world, there is a massive imbalance and inequality.
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High unemployment, stagnant incomes and distress in the rural economy coupled with an American dream have led many to take these treacherous journeys.
Superintendent Upasana said: “It’s dangerous for India that its working population, its youth, our main productive young are going outside. They do not get any good job there. Recently we find them involved in making extortion calls to businessmen here in India.”
Trafficker Joginder said getting a child abroad ‘is a fashion, a competition’
In the Mexican town of Tapachula – a hub for travelling migrants – large numbers are from India, curry houses dotting the town. A Sky News team witnessed new arrivals, as all waited for the right time to make the journey.
But with the possibility of a Trump presidency, there is an urgency to cross.
Joginder said: “The last time under Trump the rules were made very strict. That’s why there is fear among many”.
The legal route to emigrate is crowded, difficult and slow. Those determined to make the journey are willing to pay any price.
“If I don’t do it then someone else will. This has always been happening and will go on forever.”
US
Joe Biden welcomes Donald Trump at White House for transition of power meeting president was never offered
US President Joe Biden greeted Donald Trump at the White House saying “welcome back”, as the two political rivals met for the first time since a fiery debate in June.
Mr Biden and Mr Trump were seen exchanging pleasantries as they sat side by side in front of a roaring fire in the Oval Office today, in a meeting aimed at ensuring the smooth transfer of power from one leader to another.
It is the first time the president-elect has visited the White House since he left the Oval Office after being defeated by Mr Biden in the 2020 election.
“Donald, congratulations,” Mr Biden said, greeting Mr Trump with a handshake and adding that he looked “forward to a smooth transition”.
“Welcome, welcome back,” the president said.
Trump-Biden latest: Follow US election fallout live
The president and president-elect shaking hands. Pic: Reuters
The president-elect thanked Mr Biden for the invitation and for a peaceful transition of power saying it will be “as smooth as it can get”.
Mr Trump added: “Politics is tough, and it’s many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth it’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe.”
The last time Mr Trump and Mr Biden met in person was for the presidential debate on 27 June, when the Democrat’s gaffes cost him his candidacy.
Mr Biden dropped out a few weeks later in July, endorsing vice president Kamala Harris to run in the presidential race instead.
First lady Jill Biden also made an appearance at the meeting, greeting the president-elect as he arrived at the White House and giving him a “handwritten letter of congratulations” for his wife, Melania Trump, a statement from her office said.
Mr Trump thanked the outgoing president for a smooth transition of power. Pic: Reuters
The letter also “expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition”.
The incoming first lady was invited to meet Dr Biden, but reportedly declined the invitation.
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The meeting follows the longstanding tradition of outgoing presidents meeting their successors to discuss a smooth transition from one administration to the other.
However, Republican Mr Trump failed to give the same opportunity to Mr Biden in 2020 as he refused to accept his defeat against his Democratic rival.
Today’s nearly two-hour meeting between Mr Biden and the president-elect saw them discuss foreign affairs, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the safe release of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas during the militant group’s 7 October attack on southern Israel last year.
Mr Biden stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s full-scale invasion, the White House said, amid concerns that Mr Trump would follow through with threats to cut US aid to Kyiv.
The White House said Mr Biden’s team is open to working with Mr Trump’s on securing the release of Israeli hostages, which, along with a ceasefire in Gaza, has been the focus of negotiations between Israel and Hamas and their mediators.
It also said the Biden administration had secured extra commitments from Israel in the past couple of days over the situation in Gaza, where a 13-month war has caused the death of more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say.
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‘It’s always nice to win’
Mr Trump, who previously won the keys to the White House when running against Hillary Clinton in 2016, will be sworn in as president on 20 January following his decisive election win against Ms Harris last week.
Sky News’ US partner network NBC News has projected the Republicans have retained control of the House of Representatives.
It means all levers of power in Washington are now under Mr Trump and his party’s control, having also secured the Senate.
They will also be backed by a Supreme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed by the president-elect.
Earlier today, Mr Trump met with billionaire Elon Musk earlier today before he celebrated his victory with Republicans in the House of Representatives.
“Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win,” Mr Trump said. “The House did very well.”
Mr Trump received a standing ovation from House Republicans, many of whom took videos of him as he ran through their party’s victories up and down the ballot, in what would be his final presidential election.
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say ‘he’s good, we’ve got to figure something out’,” Mr Trump said to laughter.
US
Video shows white orb coming out of ocean off Kuwait coast, major UFO hearing in US Congress told
A video showing a “white orb” UFO coming out of the ocean off Kuwait has been found on the US Department of Defense’s own network, a congressional hearing has heard.
Giving evidence to House representatives on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), the now-preferred term for UFOs, journalist Michael Shellenberger said he had been told of the footage by a source in recent weeks.
Journalist Michael Shellenberger
As it happened: Latest updates from the hearing
Mr Shellenberger, the founder of the Public news service, said the 13-minute-long high-definition, colour video was of the “orb” 20 miles off the Kuwait coast and was filmed from a helicopter.
“Then, halfway through the video, the person said, the orb is joined by another orb that briefly comes into the frame from the left before rapidly moving again out of the frame.”
He said the source discovered the video on SIPR, the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network that the Department of Defense “uses to transmit classified information”.
One particularly eye-catching moment saw representative Nancy Mace, who served as the hearing’s co-chair, bring out a 12-page document purporting to detail a classified UAP crash-retrieval programme known as Immaculate Constellation.
‘Come at me bro, I guess’
The report had been delivered to Congress by Mr Shellenberger who told the hearing a whistleblower, who is a current or former US government official, wrote the report that said “the executive branch has been managing UAP issues without congressional knowledge, oversight, or authorisation for some time, possibly decades”.
After entering the document into the Congressional record, Ms Mace said she had been warned that referencing the programme’s name in a public setting would land her “on a list”, to which she said: “Come at me bro, I guess.”
The hearing was named “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth”, and is part of a committee’s ongoing efforts to provide more information about what the government knows or does not know about UAPs.
The House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Government Innovation was told that objects, including those observed performing at more than 3,000Gs, have been spotted over US military and energy sites.
The representatives heard the objects could travel faster underwater than US submarines and could withstand massive force.
‘We are not alone in the cosmos’
Luis Elizondo, a former defence department official, was asked whether these objects could be controlled via a “mind-body connection”, to which he answered they were clearly being “intelligently controlled”.
“The vehicles we’re talking about… are performing in excess of 1,000, 2,000, 3,000Gs,” he said, adding that they react to human movement and are incredibly manoeuvrable.
“We are talking about technologies that outperform anything in our [military] inventory,” he said.
Luis Elizondo, a former defence department official
Mr Elizondo also said there was “definitely enough data” to suggest that there is “some sort of relationship” between UAPs and “sensitive US military installations, also some of our nuclear equities and also some of our department of energy sites”.
He later clarified this could be because the UAPs, or whoever or whatever is operating them, are particularly interested in gaining information about the sites, or it could simply be because there is increased visibility in such sensitive areas that more are spotted.
Mr Elizondo said “excessive secrecy” has led to “grave misdeeds… to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos”.
We are “in the midst of a multi-decade, secretive arms race - one funded by misallocated taxpayer dollars and hidden from our elected representatives and oversight bodies,” Mr Elizondo stated during his testimony.
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Members also heard that the US had recovered crashed UAPs for the purpose of understanding how to reverse-engineer them, but witnesses said they could not elaborate further.
Last year, the House Oversight Committee also looked into UFOs, with at least one witness claiming a Pentagon cover-up – something the department denied.
In November 2023, NASA announced it was taking “concrete action” to explore the potential threat of UFOs following the release of a landmark report into the phenomena.
A 33-page report had found that NASA should play a larger role in detecting such phenomena.
US
Joe Biden welcomes Donald Trump at White House for transition of power meeting president was never offered
US President Joe Biden has welcomed Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House aimed at ensuring the smooth transition of power from one leader to another.
It is the first time the president-elect has visited the White House since he left the Oval Office after being defeated by Mr Biden in the 2020 election.
Mr Biden and Mr Trump were seen exchanging pleasantries as they sat side by side in front of a roaring fire in the Oval Office.
“Donald, congratulations,” Mr Biden said, greeting Mr Trump with a handshake and adding that he looked “forward to a smooth transition.”
Trump-Biden latest: Follow US election fallout live
The president and president-elect shaking hands. Pic: Reuters
The president-elect thanked Mr Biden for the invitation and for a peaceful transition of power saying it will be “as smooth as it can get”.
Mr Trump added: “Politics is tough. And it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today and I appreciate it very much.”
First lady Jill Biden also made an appearance at the meeting, greeting the president-elect as he arrived at the White House and giving him a “handwritten letter of congratulations” for his wife, Melania Trump, a statement from her office said.
The letter also “expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition”.
The incoming first lady was invited to meet Mrs Biden, but reportedly declined the invitation.
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Mr Trump thanked the outgoing president for a smooth transition of power. Pic: Reuters
The meeting follows the longstanding tradition of outgoing presidents meeting their successors to discuss a smooth transition from one administration to the other.
However, Republican Mr Trump failed to give the same opportunity to Mr Biden in 2020 as he refused to accept his defeat against his Democratic rival.
Mr Trump, who previously won the keys to the White House when running against Hillary Clinton in 2016, will be sworn in as president in January following his decisive election win against vice president Kamala Harris last week.
The last time Mr Trump and Mr Biden met in person was for the presidential debate on 27 June, when the Democrat’s gaffes cost him his candidacy. Mr Biden dropped out a few weeks later in July, endorsing Ms Harris to run in the presidential race instead.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Mr Trump met with billionaire Elon Musk earlier today before he celebrated his victory with Republicans in the House of Representatives who have a good chance of maintaining control of the chamber as election results continue to trickle in.
“Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win,” Mr Trump said. “The House did very well.”
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‘It’s always nice to win’
Mr Trump received a standing ovation from House Republicans, many of whom took videos of him as he ran through their party’s victories up and down the ballot, in what would be his final presidential election.
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say ‘he’s good, we’ve got to figure something out’,” Mr Trump said to laughter.
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