Editorial: Immigrant song

CHENNAI: Last month, French authorities grounded a flight from the UAE to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indian passengers after being tipped off that the flight could be carrying victims of human trafficking. The passengers might have planned to travel to Central America in order to attempt illegal entry into the US or Canada, said sources. Following four days of detention, French authorities allowed the Airbus A340 aircraft to fly to Mumbai, where 276 passengers were quizzed by authorities from the Immigration Department and the CBI.

Some of the passengers were from Punjab, others from Haryana, while the rest were from Gujarat. As many as 25 had sought asylum in France, while two passengers were taken into custody on account of possessing multiple passports, and possessing sums of money beyond the permissible limit. The developments have thrown light on the extreme measures undertaken by denizens of emerging economies to make it to the nations in the global north. It is worth noting that Gujarat and Punjab account for the highest number of illegal Indian migrants to the US and Canada. Despite hundreds of people illegally migrating to North America over the last few years, the journeys come forth only when flights get grounded or people lose their lives.

It’s a stark metric of the absence of job opportunities available in villages and small towns of north India. In the last two years, nine Indians have perished while attempting to cross into the US from Canada or Mexico. January 2022 witnessed the perishing of a family of four from Gandhinagar, a couple and their two daughters who froze to death while undertaking a journey by foot in peak winter — from a small town on the US-Canada border to the American side. Then in December, another man from Gujarat fell to his death while scaling the Mexico-US border wall, bandied about proudly by former President Trump.

More recently, in April this year, another family of four from Mehsana perished when their boat capsized in a river at the US-Canada border. Mehsana was in the news for another malfeasance last year. In September, 45 people were booked for running an IELTS racket, after four immigrants were caught trying to sneak into the US from Canada in April 2022. Those apprehended were unable to speak in English when summoned before a New York Court.

There is a clear upward trend in terms of the number of people bidding adieu to India, charting illegal routes to enter America. In 2019-20, 19,883 Indians were caught while trying to illegally cross over into the US; in 2020-21, that number went up to 30,662; in 2021-22, it was 63,927; while from Nov 2022 to Sept 2023, it was a staggering 96,917 Indians as per data provided by the US Customs and Border Protection departments.

But this is not just the story of America. As per the latest figures, the number of individuals seeking asylum in European countries in 2023 was projected to surpass 1 million, reaching levels not seen since 2016 when 1.16 million asylum-seekers were reported. As a result of the growing public concern over asylum applicant numbers, the quantum of once-fringe, right wing parties across the bloc is rising. In Europe, the majority of the applicants for asylum are those from conflict ridden nations like Afghanistan and Syria. India cannot be clubbed among those nations, but thousands of Indians are nevertheless willing to step into their shoes, as the job and life opportunities here are just not enough.