The US Customs and Border Patrol took into custody 16,290 Indians who were trying to enter the US through Mexico, between October 2021 and August 2022.
One of the most used backdoor-entry methods is the ‘donkey flight’ (a term derived from a Punjabi proverb that means “to hop from one area to another”) which is an illegal way of entering a foreign country via multiple stops in other countries. It’s a popular technique adopted by thousands every year after they fail to enter a foreign country via legitimate means.
The people ‘fleeing’ India pay anything from $20,000 to $ 75,000 for a door-to-door service that takes them to the US.
There are instances of robbery, rape, and even death as one has to walk through areas with very high temperatures like the Arizona desert or the Panama forest.
If they make it, once in the US, the asylum seekers have to appear before a judge and there is no guarantee of remaining in the country. Many asylum seekers say they are running away from the BJP-led government that has allegedly imposed restrictions based on caste, creed, gender, religion, and political choices.
With increasing craze and Indians ending up desperate to enter the US at any cost, even if it means death, Rajkumar Hirani is making a film titled ‘Dunki’ starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film tells the story of a Punjabi man entering Canada via one such donkey flight.
