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.”
At least 36 people have been killed as tornadoes and high winds ripped through parts of the US.
The huge storm, which also produced dust storms and icy conditions, destroyed homes, wiped out schools and toppled lorries across the central and southern areas of the country.
National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Snell said tornado watches remain in place for parts of the Carolinas, east Georgia and northern Florida.
At least 36 people have been killed in seven states, including Missouri, where scattered twisters killed a dozen people, according to authorities.
Dakota Henderson, who lives in the state, said he and others found five bodies in the debris outside what was left of his aunt’s house on Friday night as they tried to rescue trapped neighbours.
“It was a very rough deal,” he said on Saturday. “It’s really disturbing for what happened to the people, the casualties last night.”
Destruction from a severe storm in Missouri. Pic: AP
Residents search the wreckage in Alabama. Pic: AP
Tornadoes continued on Saturday night as the Storm Prediction Center warned a region stretching from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi through Alabama, western Georgia and Florida was most at risk.
Bailey Dillon, 24, and her fiance, Caleb Barnes, watched from their front porch in Tylertown, Mississippi, as a massive twister struck an area about half a mile away near an RV park, before they drove over to help.
They filmed snapped trees, levelled buildings and overturned vehicles as Ms Dillon described the damage as “catastrophic”.
“Everything was destroyed,” she said.
“Homes and everything were destroyed all around it,” she said. “Schools and buildings are just completely gone.”
The dynamic storm, which was given a rare “high risk” designation from weather forecasters, has been blamed for deadly dust storms, icy weather and severe thunderstorms on Sunday.
State of emergency
Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said six people died and more were missing as storms moved further east into Alabama, where three people including an 82-year-old woman were reported dead.
In Arkansas, where three deaths have been confirmed, governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency.
Lorries have been overturned. Pic: AP
Damage caused by wildfires in Oklahoma. Pic: KOCO/AP
An emergency was also declared in Georgia, where a National Weather Service tornado watch posted early on Sunday warnings of isolated tornadoes, hail and gusts of up to 70mph.
Dust storms and wildfires
Dust storms caused by high winds were blamed for 11 deaths on Friday as eight people died in a pileup involving around 50 vehicles in Kansas, while three people were killed in car crashes in Texas.
The extreme weather conditions were forecast to impact an area home to more than 100 million people, with winds threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and fanning the risk of wildfires in drier, warmer areas to the south.
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Evacuations were ordered in some areas of Oklahoma, with more than 130 fires reported across the state and nearly 300 homes damaged or destroyed.
The state’s governor Kevin Stitt said some 266 square miles had burned and that he had lost a home of his own on a ranch northeast of Oklahoma City.
At least 26 people are reported to have died in powerful storms across the United States.
The number of fatalities increased after eight people died in a highway pile-up caused by a dust storm in Sherman County, Kansas on Friday. At least 50 vehicles were involved.
Car crashes during a dust storm also killed three people in Amarillo, Texas.
Authorities in Missouri say 12 people died after tornadoes struck the state, with another three deaths reported in Arkansas.
Destroyed houses in Florissant, Missouri. Pic: Reuters
A store selling car parts is torn apart in Cave City, Arkansas. Pic: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/AP
The scene of one of the fatal crashes in Austin, Texas on Friday. Pic: AP
Around 108 million people remain under widespread wind, flash flooding and wildfire alerts in central and southern US states. Hundreds of thousands of households are also without power.
Tornado warnings are in place in parts of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana, and Kentucky as a massive storm system moves across the country.
Many areas across southern states are, or will soon be, dealing with widespread flash flooding, the National Weather Service warned. It added that the flooding could turn deadly.
In Butler County, Missouri, on the border with Arkansas, local coroner Jim Akers said the man and his wife were sleeping when the tornado struck.
Tim Scott is hugged by a friend outside what is left of his home in Wayne County, Missouri. Pic: AP
Another home destroyed – this one in Florissant, Missouri. Pic: Reuters
Rescuers were able to pull the woman from the debris – but could not save the man whose mobile home was ripped apart.
“It was unrecognisable as a home. Just a debris field,” he said, describing the scene. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”
Large vehicles were also pictured overturned across the state.
A truck topples over after a severe storm near Ozark County, Missouri. Pic: Missouri State Highway Patrol/AP
Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders warned the recovery could take months after surveying damage from an EF3 tornado in Cave City, in the north of the state.
A storm ranked as EF3, on a scale of one to five, requires wind speeds of between 136-165mph (218-265kph).
Hail the size of baseballs
“It’s hard to look at this level of devastation and not be heartbroken,” she said. “It’s a whole other world when you see it up close and personal.”
Winds gusting up to 80mph (130kph) were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier places to the south.
Hail was also a hazard, some the size of baseballs were reported in Christian County, the US weather service said.
Fatal pile-ups during dust storms
In the Texas city of Amarillo, three people were killed in car crashes caused by a dust storm on Friday, according to the state’s public safety department.
One of the deaths happened after three lorries collided with four other vehicles in Palmer County, Bovina’s fire chief Cesar Marquez said. Another occurred after a pile-up of an estimated 38 cars.
The crash scene in Austin, Texas. Pic: AP
Footage from police dashcam shows the intensity of the dust storm in Kansas. Pic: Kansas Highway Patrol (Hays)
West of Amarillo in Texas, a driver captures footage of another dust storm
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” public safety department sergeant Cindy Barkley said, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. “We couldn’t tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled.”
Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state. Nearly 300 homes were damaged or destroyed, said governor Kevin Stitt.
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Three deaths happened due to storm damage in Independence County, Arkansas on Friday night, with a further 29 people injured across eight different counties, authorities said.
More than 260,000 households are without power in midwestern and southern states, according to the monitoring website PowerOutage.us.
The Storm Prediction Center at the National Weather Service issued an update on Sunday, warning of a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms.
The warning covers an area from the extreme southeastern part of Mississippi, across much of Alabama, into western Georgia and the western Florida panhandle.
US President Donald Trump has launched strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he also warned Iran the country’s support for the group must “end immediately”.
The Iran-backed Houthis reported a series of explosions in Yemen‘s capital Sanaa on Saturday evening.
The Houthi-run health ministry said in a post on X that at least nine civilians have been killed and nine others injured.
Images shared online show plumes of black smoke over the area of the city’s airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.
Smoke rises from a location reportedly struck by US airstrikes. Pic: AP
Mr Trump said the strikes were over the group’s attacks against ships in the Red Sea.
“Your time is up, and your attacks must stop, starting today. If they don’t, hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before,” he said.
The president said Iran would be held “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy, adding: “And we won’t be nice about it!”
The strikes come days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing in waters off Yemen in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza, although there have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.
Earlier this month, Israel halted all aid coming into Gaza and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if their fragile ceasefire is not extended as negotiations continue over starting a second phase.
“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Mr Trump wrote.
“These relentless assaults have cost the US and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk.”
The Houthis launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
The US, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen.
According to a US official, the operation – the first strike on the Houthis under the second Trump administration – was conducted solely by the US.
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The Houthi media office said the strikes hit “a residential neighbourhood” in Sanaa’s northern district of Shouab.
Sanaa residents said at least four airstrikes hit the Eastern Geraf neighbourhood in the district, terrifying women and children in the area.
“The explosions were very strong,” said Abdallah al Alffi. “It was like an earthquake.”
Similar missile strikes against the Houthis were done multiple times by Joe Biden’s administration in response to frequent attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the region.
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