Most deportees from the U.S. are from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat

Analysis of Indian immigrants deported from the U.S. in 2025, asylum seekers, illegal agents, and visa overstays trends.

Of the 332 undocumented Indian immigrants who have been deported from the U.S. in 2025, people from Punjab accounted for the highest share (38%), followed by people from Haryana (33%), and Gujarat (22%), as shown in Chart 1. The remaining deportees were from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and other States and UTs.

Chart 1 |  The chart shows the State-wise share of Indian citizens deported from the U.S. in 2025

A recent research paper published by Johns Hopkins University also found that between October 2001 and November 2022, 66% of those who sought asylum in the U.S. were Punjabi speakers. Nearly 14% were Hindi speakers, 8% were English speakers, and 7% were Gujarati speakers. The paper showed a sharp spike in asylum seekers in the U.S. from India after 2016, with Punjabi speakers making up the majority.

In fact, all the three flights carrying Indian deportees from the U.S. this year landed at the Amritsar International Airport, leading to a controversy. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that the Centre is doing this intentionally to defame the State. The Centre argued that Amritsar is the closest international airport for flights entering India from the U.S.

While the latest wave of deportations has grabbed headlines since the deportees were handcuffed and chained during their journey, this is not a phenomenon that has emerged after U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed crackdown on illegal immigrants. Since 2009, 15,897 undocumented Indian immigrants have been deported from the U.S. (Chart 2).

Chart 2 | The chart shows the number of undocumented Indian immigrants deported from the U.S. since 2009

Most deportations occurred in 2019 (2,042), followed by 2020 (1,889), and 2024 (1,368). It is also important to note that the number of Indians attempting to enter the U.S. illegally has surged in recent years. A decade ago, U.S. border authorities stopped not more than 1,500 Indian illegal migrants. This figure rose sharply to 96,917 in 2023 and 90,415 in 2024.