It turned out to be a lie, agents duped us

Kurukshetra/Hoshiarpur: “I was assured that I would reach the US within a month, but it turned out to be a lie,” says Robin Handa, whose family paid Rs 43 lakh to a travel agent for a chance for him to build a better life in a foreign country.

Over the next six months, the 27-year-old computer engineer from Ismailabad in Haryana’s Kurukshetra travelled across countries and crossed a sea, sometimes going hungry for days. When he finally reached the US border, he was arrested by the border patrol. Handa was among the 104 illegal migrants from Indians, including 33 from Haryana and 30 from Punjab, who were deported by the US authorities on Wednesday. Since the deportees’ return, many have shared stories of being defrauded by unscrupulous travel agents.

Of the 33 deportees from Haryana, 14 belong to Kurukshetra district. Many of these 14 are staying with their relatives to avoid the media glare, according to sources. Police said efforts are being made to gather information about the agents sending youths to the US through the ‘donkey route’ -- an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter the US. Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Varun Singla told PTI that the police contacted 10 of the 14 deported youths and their families to get information about the agents.

He said the families of four of the deportees have left for undisclosed locations. None of the families that the police spoke to has lodged a complaint against any agent. They said they would think about it. Cases will be registered only after complaints are received, Singla said. In Punjab’s Bhateri village, Jagtar Singh, who wanted to join his US-based brother, claimed he was also duped by a travel agent.

“I boarded a flight from Delhi to Malta on January 11. I was then taken to Spain and Mexico via the ‘donkey route’. I entered the US on January 24 and was caught by the US Border Patrol,” he said. He said he was kept at a detention facility for 11 days before being deported. “My dream of building a better life has been shattered and my life has been ruined,” said a distraught Singh, who lives with his wife, their two daughters and his mother. In Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, Harwinder said he paid Rs 42 lakh to a travel agent who promised him smooth passage to the US. His journey, however, was anything but smooth.

“I was taken to Brazil and from there, I was forced to undertake a journey by road through Ecuador, Colombia and Panama. There (Panama) I was forced to pay the remaining amount to the travel agent in India as I had only paid a part of it earlier,” Harwinder said. He said from Panama, he and many others embarked on a perilous journey through the dangerous ‘donkey route’ to enter the US, where all of them were arrested. Many of the deportees from Punjab and Haryana have said they paid travel agents between Rs 40 to 50 lakh to enter the US without paperwork.

An immigration consultant said the illegal travel agents first take people to some European country and then to Peru, Panama, Ecuador and Guatemala to reach the US-Mexico border. He said these agents charge anywhere between Rs 30 to 55 lakh per person. Though people are aware of the risks involved in this journey that involves crossing mountains, forests and sea, they opt for it anyway, he said.

According to immigration consultants, migrating to the US is common in Punjab’s Majha and Doaba regions and Haryana’s Kurukshetra, Karnal and Ambala districts.