Sharp rise in Indians detained at US border with Canada - with number caught attempting to sneak across already 50% higher than last year

Border agents have recorded a sharp rise in Indians attempting to illegally enter the US from Canada in a trend immigration attorneys expect could continue until the election. 

There were 30,010 Indian nationals apprehended at the norther border in 2023 compared to just 2,225 two years earlier during the height of the pandemic, according to figures published by US Customs and Border Protection.

A further 16,622 have also arrived this fiscal year, which began on October 1.

The data shows a rise in encounters at ports of entry, including airports, but also a surge in migrants arrested while trying to sneak into the country across the treacherous land border.

Indians account for the third-largest group of undocumented migrants in America amid a booming industry in the country led by fixers who charge up to $100,000 to help people reach the United States illegally.

The increase comes amid an overall increase in illegal crossings at the northern border, with migrants increasingly willing to brave the harsh conditions to avoid the chaotic southern border.

A graph shows the rise in Indian nationals apprehended at the northern border. The data is for the fiscal year, which starts on October 1

An RCMP officer stops people as they enter Canada via Roxham Road on the Canada/U.S. border in Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada, on Saturday, March 25, 2023

Experts have said the rise in crossings by Indian migrants is part of the broader trend of increased illegal migration to the United States in recent years.

The current crisis is primarily at the southern border but some wealthier migrants choose to enter Canada first, in part because it is easier to obtain a visa, then cross the northern border.

Many of the Indian nationals choosing the route are 'not the desperately poor' but come from middle-class families who expect to find more opportunities and higher pay in the United States, experts say.

Devesh Kapur, a South Asian studies professor at Johns Hopkins University, told the Washington Post that a shortage of jobs in India has contributed to a 'culture of migration'.

In major cities, immigration agents offer transport to America for fees in the tens of thousands of dollars. Some migrants travel across as many as a dozen countries on their way before arriving either in Mexico or Canada then entering the US over a land border.

Chirag Patel, a Maryland-based immigration lawyer, told Voice of America that more people may be choosing to cross before the upcoming election. They may want to cross before a possible Trump win, which would lead to stricter border policies.

'People are trying to get a lot of things in before November, but also obviously before January,' he said.

A breakdown of the data shows that in 2023, 1,630 Indian nationals were apprehended by Border Patrol between points of entry, an indicator that a person is trying to sneak into the country undetected.

So far in 2024, the total is already 2,454 with six months left of the fiscal year.

The number of undocumented migrants encountered at ports of entry - such as those who have arrived at an airport by plane - was 28,380 last year. So far this fiscal year, there have been 14,168 arrivals of undocumented Indian nationals at ports of entry.

The Indian embassy has said it is working with the US government to tackle 'illegal immigration and human trafficking' while facilitating legal entry.

Shinder Purewal, from Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia, told Voice of America: 'It's easier to get a visa to Canada than to Pakistan.

'More and more people are entering Canada, so they can just go straight to the U.S.'

Indian nationals are also crossing the southern border at unprecedented levels.

Border Patrol apprehended 41,719 in 2023, more than double the number in the previous year.

There has also been a rise among those from other countries in Asia, including Chinese nationals.

DailyMail.com reported this week that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has arrested nearly 25,000 nationals from the People's Republic of China (PRC) since October.

The recent figures represent a 7,000 percent increase from the same time period in 2021.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insists that he struck a recent agreement with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for the U.S. to charter more deportation flights of migrants from the country.

Border Patrol images show a group of people crossing the Canadian border into the US

Pictured: Chinese migrants are detained by CBP in Jacumba, Calif. on Nov. 11, 2023

Only 342 migrants from China were detained by CBP in Fiscal Year 2021 and 1,987 were apprehended the next fiscal year cycle. 

But the number of illegal migrants coming from China surged in 2023 with 24,125 crossing the entire year.

CBP's data set includes only apprehensions of Chinese migrants who crossed illegally and does not include ports of entry where tens of thousands of migrants from the PRC have crossed over the last few years.

The border crossing surge from PRC comes amid heightened tension between China and the U.S..

The overwhelming majority of Chinese nationals encountered illegally crossing the borders are single adults, leading to fears that some maybe spies for the CCP.

Sec. Mayorkas said last week during a House hearing that the U.S. has so far sent one flight of Chinese nationals back to the PRC – and there are plans to send more.