725,000 Indian Illegal Immigrants In US, Third Largest Undocumented Population In The Country

There were about 725,000 Indian illegal immigrants in the US, a new report has claimed.

According to the Pew Research Center, Indians make up the third largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador.

AFP

How many illegal immigrants are in the US?

The US had an estimated unauthorised immigrant population of 10.5 million in 2021, which translates to about three per cent of the country's total population and 22 per cent of the foreign-born population.

The study found that there was an increase in the number of unauthorised immigrants in the US from 2007 to 2021, with the largest increase from Central America (240,000) and South and East Asia (180,000).

Where are the illegal immigrants from??

While the number of unauthorised immigrants from Mexico living in the US -- 4.1 million in 2021 -- was the lowest since the 1990s, El Salvador -- 800,000 -- and India, with 725,000 immigrants, saw an increase in the numbers, the report said.

AFP/FILE

Among countries with the largest numbers of unauthorised US immigrants, India, Brazil, Canada, and former Soviet Union countries all experienced growth from 2017 to 2021, the report said.

The six states with the largest unauthorised immigrant populations in 2021 were California (1.9 million), Texas (1.6 million), Florida (900,000), New York (600,000), New Jersey (450,000) and Illinois (400,000), the report said.

Where are illegal immigrants from India crossing?

According to new data from US Customs and Border Protection, an unprecedented number of undocumented Indian immigrants are crossing the US borders on foot.

AP/ FILE

From October 2022 to September 2023, 96,917 Indians were apprehended, expelled or denied entry for having entered the US without papers.

Since borders opened after COVID, the number of undocumented Indians in the US went up, with 30,662 encountered in the 2021 fiscal year and 63,927 in the 2022 fiscal year.

Out of the nearly 97,000 encounters this year, 30,010 were at the Canadian border and 41,770 at the Southern border.

In India, a significant portion of illegal immigrants to the US are from Gujarat.

AP

In recent years, there have been several cases where entire families have been killed on the US border due to harsh weather conditions or by drowning while trying to enter the country illegally.

Most of these illegal immigrants pay anywhere between Rs 30 lakhs to Rs 70 lakhs to human traffickers for a chance to settle in the US.

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