Read the story in Nepali: अमेरिकाबाट फर्काइए नेपाली, चिन्तामा अवैध बस्दै आएका आप्रवासी

At midday on Wednesday, Falgun 21, 2081 (March 5, 2025), there's a large gathering at the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau in Babarmahal, Kathmandu. There, in one corner, eight people are sitting in a row, hiding their faces out of fear of being recognized.

Outside, their family members wait with similarly disheartened expressions. There's a crowd of ordinary citizens and journalists. This gathering occurred after eight Nepalis, who were 'deported' from America and arrived on Wednesday, were brought to the bureau for investigation.

These eight people were brought to Tribhuvan International Airport by the United States on a chartered plane and dropped off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Tribhuvan International Airport Immigration Officer Yagya Raj Aryal stated that after completing their immigration procedures, they were sent to the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau for necessary investigation and to be handed over to their families. The Bureau, after conducting a brief inquiry with the eight individuals, handed them over to their families and sent them home.

Superintendent of Police and Spokesperson Narendra Kunwar of the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau said that they stated they had reached America through illegal routes known among Nepalis as 'tallo bato' (lower route) and internationally as the 'donkey route.'

The Bureau had discussions about filing a trafficking case against those who sent them to America. However, Kunwar said that they did not provide any information about the individuals who facilitated their journey to America through the 'lower route.'

Immediately after assuming the presidency on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump introduced the Laken Riley Act. This law, targeted at immigrant workers, grants the federal government the authority to detain undocumented immigrants who commit theft, robbery, attacks on law enforcement officers, murder or cause injury.

Similarly, as per his election promise, Trump issued directives to deport illegal immigrants immediately after taking his oath. Following the Laken Riley Act and Trump's order, the United States has intensified crackdowns on immigrants and is rapidly deporting undocumented immigrants.

Nepalis are also among those being deported. This has caused concern not only among those attempting to enter the United States illegally, but also among those who have already entered and started earning, fearing they too will be deported.

One such person living in this anxiety is Dhaniram (name changed), who spent 10 million rupees to enter the United States illegally. In a conversation with us immediately after newly elected President Trump introduced policies to tighten restrictions on immigrants, he said he regretted coming to America. “My sleep is gone, I can’t sleep at all, my mind is constantly afraid,” he said via Facebook Messenger while working at a restaurant in New York. “Coming through the ‘lower route’ was truly a mistake, I’m regretting it now.”

Hailing from western Nepal and claiming to have a wife, a minor son and a sick mother at home, he requested that his identity not be revealed. He had accumulated a debt of 10 million rupees by the time he entered America eight months ago, after a year-long journey. He said that immediately after entering America, he went to New York and started working in a restaurant, and has already paid off half of his debt.

However, Dhaniram recounted losing his appetite and sleep after Trump issued an executive order to crack down on undocumented immigrants. “Images of hundreds of immigrants being deported in handcuffs are being circulated,” he said, sounding dejected, “which has robbed me of my sleep.”

Reuters, an international news agency, reported that 37,660 people were deported in the first month of Trump's administration. This number is lower than the monthly average of the previous year under former President Joe Biden.

According to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an average of 57,000 immigrants were deported per month in the final year of the Biden administration. Reuters reports that although the number of deportations was lower in the first month, the number of deported immigrants is expected to rise in the coming days due to Trump's policy of tightening restrictions on undocumented immigrants.

Coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to bring back the 8 people

It is estimated that 11 million immigrants reside in the United States without official documentation. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) list includes 1,445,504 immigrants slated for deportation, among whom are 1,365 Nepalis.

Suvanga Parajuli, Joint Spokesperson and Information Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the eight individuals who arrived in Nepal on Wednesday were sent back to Nepal in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “They arrived through the Ministry's coordination,” Parajuli said, “Due to confidentiality, we cannot disclose more than that.”

Sharad Raj Aran, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nepali Embassy in the United States, says that those who have already been ordered to be deported by the courts are being deported. “Even if someone is found without documents during a raid, they must first be presented in court,” he said in a conversation with us before the eight were deported. “Only after the court orders deportation, they are deported.”

ICE has stated that in the first phase, those without any legal documents, those involved in criminal activities and ordered by the courts, and those previously told to leave the country will be arrested.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Bahadur Bista of the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau says that Nepalis who have entered America illegally and returned often come to the Bureau with problems. “I have even proposed establishing a separate desk to address the problems of deported Nepalis,” Bista said, “However, further discussion on this matter has not yet taken place.”

According to Bista, Maniratna (name changed) from Jajarkot, who was deported from America, arrived in a distraught state at the Bureau on Magh 28, 2081 (February 10, 2025). Maniratna, who had entered America illegally seven months ago, was arrested by immigration and detained in jail. He arrived in Kathmandu shortly after President Donald Trump took office. Bista stated that although the deportation process had started earlier, he was deported and arrived in Kathmandu following Trump's order.

DSP Bista said that he was asked to register a case and recover the money from the agent who sent him to America, as he spent 9 million rupees on the illegal route to America and was returned without even seeing it.

He had left Nepal in Falgun 2080 (February/March, 2024) and entered the United States from the Mexican border eight months later. “The money he gave to the agent to enter America through the ‘lower route’ was raised through loans taken by his father and elder brother,” Bista says. “After being returned without entering America, he needed to recover that loan money from the agent, so he came to the Bureau with his elder brother.”

However, Bista says that a human trafficking case cannot be filed against the agent because he voluntarily paid the agent and went to America. Although a human trafficking case could be filed against those who sent Maniratna to America now, Bista clarified that Maniratna went to America in February 2023, and the law was amended with this provision only a month later, so his case could not be registered under that.

Bista said that it took a long time to convince Maniratna that he was not a victim of trafficking. After a lengthy discussion, he advised him to go to the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, Teku, stating that a fraud case could be filed. DSP Bista said that Maniratna did not return to the Bureau after that.

Nepalis had been deported previously as well

The deportation of immigrants residing illegally in the United States is neither new nor unusual. Nepalis have been deported from America at various times in the past as well.

Data shows that from 2006 to 2015, the United States deported 413 Nepalis. Among those deported, 93 were accused of involvement in criminal activities, while 320 were deported due to a lack of necessary documentation.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 225,000 Nepalis reside in the United States.

Risk of TPS Renewal Failure

Former Nepali Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Arjun Karki, says that Trump's new policy has increased the risk of non-renewal of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 9,000 Nepalis currently under TPS. According to him, they could also be affected after June 24 of this year.

Karki, who states that America had previously been lenient towards immigrants who had already entered, says that Trump's latest move appears to be very harsh. Trump had implemented similar policies for immigrants during his previous tenure as U.S. President from 2017 to 2021. Karki says that at that time, immigrants not involved in crime were not targeted by Trump.

During Trump's first term (2017–2021), ICE deported approximately 985,000 immigrants. “Previously, the Trump administration only searched for undocumented immigrants who had committed crimes and were in hiding,” Karki says. “There was a policy to deport only those whose avenues to the courts were closed. This time, that doesn’t seem to be the case.” Karki says that the current policy could affect all those residing illegally.

Dilli Bhatta, a lawyer residing in New York, USA, says that the Trump administration's policy of deporting undocumented immigrants is not as harsh as it is being portrayed. According to him, those who have committed crimes and are in hiding will be the first targets.

Stating that those involved in organized crime are under high surveillance, Bhatta says, “Both those who have committed crimes in their home country and those who have committed crimes in America will be deported.”

Bhatta claims that the increased noise is due to the fact that they have started actively searching for and deporting those who continued to stay in America even after the court ordered them to leave the country, but Trump's policy will not affect immigrants whose legal processes are ongoing.

According to Bhatta, Trump's policy has almost eliminated the possibility of entering America through the ‘lower route.’ “If you are coming to America through this ‘lower route,’ think about it in time,” Bhatta advises, “This route was illegal before too, now the possibility of coming through that route is over.”

According to him, the maximum number of Nepalis at risk of deportation is 3,000. Bhatta said he has received information that 1,500 undocumented immigrants are being deported daily.

Dr. Karki, who returned after serving as the Nepali Ambassador to the United States, says that looking at Trump's recent actions, the situation could be more complex than before. According to him, previously, even those who entered America without documents were protected by the U.S. government as long as they were not involved in crime. However, Karki says that Trump's recent executive order will affect many undocumented immigrants.

The American Dream: Driven by Social Influence

After the tightening of restrictions on immigrants in America, Dhaniram, who concluded that he had come in vain, found life in Nepal not so difficult. His elder brother was a laborer in the Gulf, his fields produced enough to feed the family for a year, and he had a two-story concrete house – Dhaniram didn't struggle to make a living.

He lived in the village with his mother and wife, farming. However, his mind became fixated on joining the wave of people going to America. He left home on Baisakh 24, 2079 (May 7, 2022), after paying millions of rupees to a broker.

A wave of people from Dang and Rukum going to America through the ‘lower route’ is ongoing. Caught up in this wave, Dhaniram entered America from Mexico, traveling from Kathmandu to Delhi, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Dubai, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

He also had plans to go for foreign employment like his elder brother. People from every house in his village were going to America through the ‘lower route.’ He chose the same path. While he was preparing to leave for America, three people from his own village returned home after being held hostage in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “I used to get startled when I thought about them,” Dhaniram says, “At the same time, I was in contact with families who had gone through the ‘lower route’ and settled there, so I gathered courage.”

He reached Turkey in Shrawan 2079 (July/August 2022), traveling from Kathmandu to Delhi. The Turkish immigration sent him back to Nepal. He returned home. By this time, he had already spent 2 million rupees. Upon returning to Nepal, he asked the broker for a refund. The brokers did not refund the money but promised to get him to America.

On his second attempt, he was arrested in Brazil. He spent seven days in a Brazilian jail. He said that the Brazilian government released him after giving him a refugee residency permit. Dhaniram's dream was not Brazil. So, he left from there with the broker.

Nine Nepalis, whom he had met in Delhi, the capital of India, while on his way to America, were also arrested with Dhaniram in Brazil. He did not see them when he left the jail. However, Dhaniram informed that he met another ten Nepalis in the jungles of Panama.

It took them 28 days to cross the jungles of Panama. “We saw human corpses in the jungle,” Dhaniram says, recalling the harrowing moments of the journey, “When a fellow traveler got sick, we had to leave him behind. If we waited, we would get separated.”

While attempting to enter America from Mexico, he was apprehended by U.S. police. It is observed that some who enter America through illegal routes and are caught are deported, while others are detained in jail there and later released. Dhaniram, who was apprehended on Baisakh 21, 2080 (May 4, 2023), was released within four days. Five days later, he reached New York.

Although he started working in New York, Dhaniram has not yet received a work permit. He has filed an application seeking asylum. It is estimated that there are over 7,000 Nepalis like Dhaniram residing in America without documents. However, Sharad Raj Aran, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nepali Embassy in the United States, says that accurate figures cannot be obtained as there is no record of those residing illegally.

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