Last Updated:
Rakinder Singh was among the 104 Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration. He recounted reaching the US after trekking through the dense Panama jungle, facing the dangers of venomous snakes and treacherous rivers
Of the 104 Indians who landed in Amritsar on Wednesday onboard a US military aircraft, 30 were from Punjab. (PTI)
A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, marking the first batch deported under Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Many Indians leave their country, spending lakhs, in search of a better life in US taking the illegal ‘donkey’ route. However, their American dream often transforms into a harrowing journey. Such was the experience of Rakinder Singh, a resident of Thakarwal village in Hoshiarpur district, Punjab.
Forty-one-year-old Rakinder, after having worked in Australia for 12 years, returned home in 2020. Hoping to secure a brighter future for his three children, he set his sights on the US. He entrusted Rs 45 lakh to a travel agent who promised legal passage to the US. However, this promise proved to be a cruel deception.
Narrating his ordeal to The Indian Express, Rakinder said that he had to pay Rs 45 lakh to an unknown agent ‘Sabu’, who used to talk only on WhatsApp calls. He had never seen Sabu, had no picture, and no confirmed identity. The agent used to talk to everyone using different names, sometimes ‘Raja’, sometimes ‘Leo’.
This agent had men present in every country to collect the money. Rakinder only became suspicious when he saw that many other people like him were also getting calls from the same WhatsApp number, despite the agent using a different name for each person he spoke to.
Rakinder embarked on a journey on August 8, 2023, taking a flight from Amritsar to Dubai. Over the next six months, he travelled through 14 countries.
Rakinder travelled from Dubai to South Africa, then Brazil, where the agent’s men confiscated his passport. After this, they travelled to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.
This arduous journey saw them endure many days in the jungle, navigating perilous paths, often without food or water. To cross the US-Mexico border, they resorted to scaling a fence with a ladder. Rakinder shared that they had to cross the Panama jungle under false pretences which he described as the most terrifying part of the journey.
The agents’ men were promised a ship to transport them across the jungle. However, upon arrival, they discovered no ship awaited them. Instead, they were informed that they would have to navigate the treacherous jungle on foot. This jungle posed a considerable threat, teeming with venomous snakes and perilous rivers.
“We used to walk through the jungle during the day and sleep in a tent at night. However, fear was a constant companion. Our phones were useless. The agent’s promises were exposed as lies. Instead of the agreed-upon provisions, we faced inadequate food and the terrifying prospect of ransom or captivity. The entire journey was plagued by severe shortages of food and water,” Rakinder said.
“We were denied food and water for two to three days, occasionally receiving only a small portion of rice and rajma. Upon reaching Guatemala, the agent’s men took us hostage, demanding additional payment to cross the border,” he added.
The family paid the last instalment of Rs 20 lakh to the agent’s men in Punjab. Similarly, a man from Amritsar was held hostage in Ecuador until his family paid Rs 7 lakh. Even after reaching US, there was no relief.
Upon arriving in the US on January 15, he was apprehended by US security forces and detained. Held in a detention centre, he found himself confined to a 32-room facility with 50-60 individuals from various nations, including Pakistan, Nepal, and Peru. Attempts to contact the agent proved futile as the phone was disconnected, and he received no further communication from the agent.
Of the 104 Indians who landed in Amritsar on Wednesday onboard a US military aircraft, 30 were from Punjab. Rakinder was one of these 30 individuals.
Rakinder said, “Our hands and feet were tied, but the US Army did not misbehave with us. They behaved very decently.” When he reached Amritsar after six months, he shared that he cried after seeing hot Indian food.
Currently, Rakinder has neither his passport nor any money left. He lost Rs 45 lakh in his futile ordeal. “Now I cannot even file a police complaint against anyone because there is no real name, address, or photo of the agent. Even his men were always hidden,” he said.
After reaching Punjab, Rakinder wants to warn everyone against undertaking such a journey. “Please do not take this illegal path. I lost all my earnings, suffered humiliation for six months, and got nothing in the end. Many Punjabi youths like me lose everything in pursuit of a better future. But this path only leads to deception and death,” he said.
Rakinder Singh’s journey represents the plight of hundreds of Indians who, attempting to enter America illegally, find themselves ensnared by unscrupulous agents and lose everything.
The US, particularly under the Donald Trump administration, has implemented stricter deportation policies and intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration.
- Location :
Punjab, India, India
