Explained: What is Donkey Route and How it Works as Indian Migrants Deported by US

New Delhi: Over 100 Indian migrants were sent back to India from the United States, marking the first mass deportation under US President Donald Trump . The deportees had entered the country using a dangerous, illegal ‘Donkey Route’; read to know all about this ‘Dunki Route’ and how it works…

Explained: What is ‘Donkey Route’?

The ‘donkey route', more popularly known as the ‘dunki route’ is a dangerous, illegal journey that migrants use to go to the United States or the other European countries, in order to have a better living and a good job. 

Named after a Punjabi idiom, the ‘dunki route’ involves crossing illegal border crossings and enter a country via indirect routes, making stops in different countries. The immigrants are led by ‘agents’, who charge exorbitant money and expose them to dangerous, life-threatening situations while helping them to enter the country by illegal means.

How Does the ‘Dunki Route’ Work?

• Indian migrants, who want to enter the United States or another European country and are unable to do so by the legal channel, pay a huge amount of money to the agents who then help them to enter United States via other countries.
• Indian citizens can easily get a tourist visa for Guyana, Bolivia or another Latin American country; the Indians are then mostly taken to Colombia which as compared to Panama, is closer to the US Border. 
• If the immigrants are able to brave the dangerous forest of Darien Gap, wild animals' attacks and robbery and rape attempts by criminal gangs in the area, they reach Costa Rica and Nicaragua in eight to ten days.
• It must be noted that the journey from Colombia to Panama and then to Costa Rica does not involve any roads or bridges, the people are supposed to cross dense forests and mountains.
• From Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the Indians reach the southern border of Mexico with Guatemala; from here, they enter Mexico and then to United States.
• The entire process is quite complex, time-taking and life-threatening. Keeping in mind the political situation, weather, human trafficking and other criminal channels, it can take two years or more to reach US via the ‘dunki route’. 
• Several tunnels have also been made near the border areas between US and Mexico, which support the illegal migrants' ‘donkey route’. 
• One of these tunnels which is said to be a ‘VIP Tunnel’ is narrow, dark and filled with insects, rodents and rattlesnakes; it connects Mexico's Ciudad Juarez to Texas' El Paso and the money taken by the cartels is as much as $6,000 (Almost Over Rs 5.25 lakh).
• Once the immigrant has paid the money to the cartel, a code is given to them which is a ‘protection’ from harassment by other cartels and law enforcement agencies in Mexico, thus making their crossover into the United States smooth.

Over 100 Indian Migrants Deported from US

A US military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in a northern Indian city on Wednesday, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration, airport officials said. The Indians who returned home had illegally entered the United States over the years and came from various Indian states.

Of the deportees, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat , 30 from Punjab , three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said. Nineteen women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two girls aged five and seven years, were among the deportees, they said.

We Were Handcuffed, Chained... Thought Being Sent to Another Deportation Camp'

Jaspal Singh (36), who was among the deportees, claimed that they were handcuffed and their legs were chained and those were taken off only at the Amritsar airport. Singh, who hails from Hardorwal village in Gurdaspur district, said he was captured by the US Border Patrol after he crossed the US border on January 24.

After reaching his hometown in the evening, Singh said he was defrauded by a travel agent, who had promised him that he would be sent to the US legally. "I had asked the agent to send me after getting a proper US visa. But he deceived me," he said.

Singh said the deal with the agent was finalised at Rs 30 lakh. He left home for the US in July last year and reached that country only in January.

Singh said he was arrested by the US Border Patrol, kept there for 11 days and then sent back. 
He said initially, they did not know where they were being taken. "We thought we were being taken to another camp. Then a police officer told us that we were being taken to India."

"We were handcuffed and our legs were chained. The handcuffs and chains were taken off at the Amritsar airport," he further added.

The move came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s visit to Washington, which is expected next week. US President Donald Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week and Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trade. India has cooperated with the US and said it is ready to accept the deported Indians after verification.

(Inputs from AP, PTI)