About 150 kilometres away from Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar, in Luna village of Padra taluka, the father is inconsolable as the police escort his daughter Khusboo Patel home Thursday morning.
While Khusboo makes failed attempts to avoid the cameras, that the family is hesitant to speak to the media is evident as the father shuts the main door of the house.
Khusboo is among the 33 Gujaratis of the 104 Indians deported by the US. Their deportation is part of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants and comes just in a fortnight of the Inauguration. The other deportees are from North Gujarat and Central Gujarat.
The parents claimed that they were unaware about the daughter going to the US. Mother Nainaben claimed that she saw her after 25 days and thought that she was in Gandhinagar.
Even before taking over as the President, Trump had made clear his views on illegal immigrants. The worst fears of the affected families have come true. This is just the beginning of their American Dream crashing.
Lack of job opportunities, the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), the lure of earning in dollars and following the footsteps of friends and relatives takes them to the US. Legally or illegally. They simply do not care.
Lessons aren’t learnt. May that be of January 2022 when Jagdish Patel, his wife and two children from Dingucha village in North Gujarat froze to death on the Canada side, 12 meters away from the US border, or even of Pravin Chudhary, his wife and two children from Manekpura village of North Gujarat whose bodies were recovered from a marsh bordering the St. Lawerance River in Quebec, Canada on April 1, 2023.
There is no comparison between the charges for legal immigration and illegal immigration. While legal immigration can cost a couple of lakhs, of course the degree that you hold and the expertise is of paramount importance, in case of illegal immigration, the charges vary from Rs 75 lakh to 1 crore.
Travel to North Gujarat and you hear stories and stories about people selling away their agricultural land and homes to make a life in the US. No. They do not find white-collar jobs. They work in motels, hotels, gas stations and convenience stories.
The plan to enter the US is executed by different chains of agents in Gujarat, India and outside the country. A couple of them from Gujarat are already behind the bars in previous cases. One of the key agents Bharat alias Bobby Patel is out on bail.
The illegal immigrants or their family pay to the agents upon reaching the US. In the US, they are supported by their relatives. Some of them also give them loans and to repay it they work in their motels.
The villagers’ desire not to deport the existing illegal immigrants does not make any difference. According to reports, the US has already identified 18,000 illegal Indian immigrants for deportation.
According to Pew Research Centre, a fact tank of the USA, an estimated 7.25 lakh illegal immigrants from India live there, making them the third largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador.
Media reports also indicate that in 2023-24, the US officials recorded over 90,000 attempts by Indian nationals to enter the country without authorisation. Indians are now around three per cent of all unauthorised crossings, according to US Customs and Border Protection Data.
The first batch of illegal immigrants, who have been deported, were in the US for a few days or a couple of months. However, the next batch could well include those who have been staying in the States for a few years.
Once they return, the question would be what would they do and where will their children study.
On their return on Thursday, the deportees tried to hide their faces. Having been hand-cuffed and chained in the legs onboard US Military aircraft, their dreams shattered and the question of how to repay the loans and clear the debt weighing heavy on their minds, the future appeared hazy.
Police ensured that none of the deportees speaks to the media. They were cordoned the area and made safe passage for the deportees to enter the police vehicles.
Opposition corners Government
The way the deportees were hand-cuffed and chained, the opposition has hit out at the Narendra Modi Government, more so as the Indian Prime Minister calls Trump his friend. The issue rocked the Rajya Sabha and the Opposition protested outside the Parliament House.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil was critical when he said that the government should be ashamed that Gujarat is called a model and developed state but as employment or facilities are not provided to small people they go abroad. He also questioned why the people had to go to the police station upon return.
AAP Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava urged the government to engage with the US government to ensure the safety of our citizens.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi questioned the BJP’s silence over the issue. “The dictatorial Trump administration has disrespected Indian citizens,” he said.
There has been no reaction from the BJP, which is power in Gujarat for the last three decades. The only exception has been former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel who said that the deportees should be seen with sympathy. Those staying the US have helped the country (India) and the society a lot, he added.
Also Read: Deported from US, 33 Gujaratis Arrive in Ahmedabad
