Kusum Arora 
Jalandhar: The fear of being caught in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and being deported has forced many Indian youths who entered the US without legal documentation via the ‘dunki’ route to hide at home and quit work.
Their fears and anxieties have mounted following the deportation of 104 Indians from the US last Wednesday (February 5).
Reports and visuals of deportees in handcuffs and shackles, and of the possible deportation of a further 487 presumed Indian nationals, have left the youth, who hail from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat, alarmed.
Following US President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration and the ICE raids that have taken place since he took office, some gas stations as well as grocery and liquor stores where these youths worked for cash have reportedly lay empty.
“I was working at a gas station but stopped going to work following the recent deportation and ICE raids. I am staying at home and avoiding going outside. The deportation of 104 Indians is giving us sleepless nights,” said Amandeep Singh*, who went to the US via the dunki route in November 2024.
On the deportation of the 104 Indians, a general sentiment among these youths was that the Modi government should have spoken to the Trump administration and avoided the handcuffing and shackling of deportees.
“That day, we could not eat anything. Only the deportees know how they endured that trauma,” Amandeep added.
Anxiety prevails despite work permit
The Trump administration has also shut down the CBP One mobile app that allowed undocumented immigrants to submit their personal details and schedule appointments to claim asylum at points of entry along the southern US border.
While ICE officers have targeted undocumented immigrants, others who have been present in the country on work permits for the last two years are also worried.
“Fear is the only word that is keeping us on our toes. Even though I have a valid work permit, I too was questioned by the US border police during one of my trips to Arizona. They allowed me to go only after checking my work permit and other documents,” said Jasmeet Singh*, a truck driver who went to the US in March 2022.
Also read | ‘Never Thought She’d Be Sent Back in a Month’: Families Grapple With Deportation of Kin From US
Jasmeet reached the US via the dunki route, having crossed Qatar, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.
He added: “Two years ago, the situation was different and there was not much strictness at the US border. I reached the US within one month and came along with a family from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab. It was an arduous journey, but I made it through.
“But after the deportation of 104 Indians, strict US border police patrolling at the US-Mexico border and ICE raids, people should think a hundred times before coming to the US illegally. It is way too risky now.”
Immigration enforcement raids have occurred in various US states after Trump took office.
Places where undocumented immigrants worked ‘have been lying empty’
The Wire also spoke to some US green card holders, who admitted that there was a visible impact of ICE raids in many cities.
Gurdeep Singh, who migrated to the US from Punjab’s Kapurthala district nearly 40 years ago, said, “Recently, I went to a trucking workshop, where the owner said that his six Mexican workers were in hiding ever since ICE raids started. The Mexican workers were missing for the past fortnight.
“The same is the case for Punjabi, Haryanvi and Gujarati youths who came via the dunki route and were forced to stay indoors these days. All those places where they used to work earlier like house construction sites and stores have been lying empty.
“The ICE raids have impacted local businesses and farms too,” he said. “Even last week, ICE officers arrested youths from the Fresno city of California, leading to panic. These days, we are suggesting everyone to keep copies of their documents to avoid any unnecessary trouble,” Gurdeep added.
Apart from this, the Trump government’s expanding the use of ‘expedited removal’ – which allows officials to deport certain undocumented immigrants without court proceedings – has also sowed panic among many undocumented immigrants.
Jaswant Singh, a San Francisco-based real estate agent said, “Usually, an [undocumented] immigrant can get a work permit after 180 days of submitting their asylum application. Once they get a work permit, which is valid for five years, they can stay, work and apply for a green card.
“However, under the expedited removal clause, if a person fails to prove their documentation, they could be deported by ICE officers, bypassing [their] only option of a court hearing, which acts as a shield in such cases.”
Also read | Roundup: How Other Countries Reacted to US Deporting Their Citizens on Military Planes
Restraining of deportees ‘acute failure on Modi government’s part’
Speaking to The Wire from California, Satnam Singh Chahal, president of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said that the deportation of the 104 Indians left many people shocked and alarmed.
He pointed out that this was the first such incident where Indian deportees were handcuffed and deported in a US military plane. “People have been deported during the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations too, but the impact of this deportation will be remembered in India-US history.”
Chahal added: “It is an acute failure on the part of the Modi government that they could not save their nationals from such humiliation. The Indian government could have sent their own plane to bring the 104 Indians home, but Prime Minister Modi and his ministers remained mum.”
The NAPA president questioned the Modi government’s decision of allowing the military aircraft to land at Amritsar and said it seemed to be a deliberate attempt to prove to the world that it is only Punjabis who enter the US illegally.
He also said that immigration has been going on across the world for hundreds of years. “… People, particularly Punjabis, should avoid coming to the US via the dunki route. If they are so passionate about coming to the US, they should come on study visa, which would make them eligible to get a green card as was announced by Trump,” he said.
Chahal also said this is why all those youths and families who came via the dunki from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat to the US were hiding these days.
“They have no other option but to hide somewhere, which is a tricky situation. Earlier, they were able to work in stores, but following ICE raids, that option is also gone. And even if they try to work through some means, they will be arrested; hence, it is a double whammy for them,” he added.
“There will be more deportations in the days to come and this should serve as a grim reminder that nobody should come to the US illegally,” the NAPA president said.
ICE enforcement ops not indiscriminate, as per official
Even as the ICE’s enforcement operations have worried undocumented immigrants living in the US, one ICE officer has claimed that the agency is pursuing specific people as opposed to indiscriminately picking people up.
“I really hate the word ‘raids’ because it gives people the wrong impression, as if we’re just arbitrarily going door to door and saying, ‘Show us your papers,’ … Nothing could be further from the truth,” the ICE’s Baltimore field office director Matt Elliston told the Associated Press.
But it is unclear how far this will go to diminish fears or rumours among undocumented immigrants in the country.
*Name changed upon request.