U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded just 34,146 encounters with Indian nationals in fiscal-year 2025, a dramatic 62 % drop from FY 2024 and the lowest level in five years. Analysts attribute the reversal to the Trump administration’s hard-line deterrence strategy: charter deportation flights, rapid Title 8 expulsions, and the publicised use of military aircraft to return migrants.
Policy shifts in January—including a resumption of in-country repatriations and stepped-up patrols along the Mexico and Canada borders—changed the risk calculus for would-be migrants and smuggling networks that operate the so-called “Dunki” route via Latin America. Since January, roughly 1,700 Indians have been deported, 333 of them on three military flights to Amritsar.
![CBP data show 62 % plunge in illegal Indian migration after U.S. enforcement surge]()
For global-mobility managers, the data highlight a stricter environment for overstays and asylum claims. Indian companies with U.S. operations should reinforce compliance messaging to employees and dependents, ensuring that business-visitor and work-visa rules are respected to avoid inadvertent status violations that could now trigger faster removal.
Observers note that cartel disruptions, increased Mexican checkpoints, and social-media videos of high-profile workplace raids have also discouraged irregular travel. The decline underscores how quickly enforcement policy can reshape migration flows, offering a real-time case study in deterrence versus demand.
Policy shifts in January—including a resumption of in-country repatriations and stepped-up patrols along the Mexico and Canada borders—changed the risk calculus for would-be migrants and smuggling networks that operate the so-called “Dunki” route via Latin America. Since January, roughly 1,700 Indians have been deported, 333 of them on three military flights to Amritsar.
For global-mobility managers, the data highlight a stricter environment for overstays and asylum claims. Indian companies with U.S. operations should reinforce compliance messaging to employees and dependents, ensuring that business-visitor and work-visa rules are respected to avoid inadvertent status violations that could now trigger faster removal.
Observers note that cartel disruptions, increased Mexican checkpoints, and social-media videos of high-profile workplace raids have also discouraged irregular travel. The decline underscores how quickly enforcement policy can reshape migration flows, offering a real-time case study in deterrence versus demand.
