Indian Migrants Drive Surge in Northern U.S. Border Crossings

A group of immigrants from India pile out of a taxi minivan beside the Clinton County, New York, government building in this small upstate city half an hour from the Canadian border.

They are quickly swarmed by a half a dozen fellow Indian immigrants who’ve waited hours for this business opportunity.

This fleet of jitney taxis offering migrants rides south to New York City is one clear example of the informal economy that’s sprung up following a significant increase in unauthorized crossings across the usually sleepy northern border over the last year and a half.

“I rent a car, I come here,” Says Shivam, a 20-year-old driver from India who goes by only a surname. “So people coming, I’m just helping them.”

But make no mistake, this is business, and business is booming.

So far this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have had nearly 20,000 encounters with migrants between ports of entry on the northern border.

That’s a 95% increase from last year.

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Pablo Bose, director of the Global and Regional Studies Program at the University of Vermont, says the reasons for why most Indian immigrants come to the U.S. varies, and are different to those of Central and South Americans.

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Most of the migrants crossing through Canada are Indian nationals. In June, unauthorized crossings of Indians here hit an all-time high, with about 3,600 attempting to cross between ports of entry.

“For some of the Indian families (the motivation) has definitely been economic opportunity, reunification with family,” Bose says.

He says part of the reason so many Indians come to the U.S. through Canada first is because of the northern neighbor’s favorable immigration policies. For instance, until recently, migrants in Canada who were on a visitor’s visa could apply for a temporary work permit there.

Canada also has an express entry policy for skilled migrants who want to live there.

So why are they crossing into the U.S.?

Bose says there are simply more jobs in more industries.

“We have a significant swathe of Indians who end up broadly speaking in the services and hospitality industries, especially in larger cities like New York and Chicago where there’s an ability to disappear into the immigrant workforce,” Bose says.

He added migrants believe the U.S. has more to offer than Canada, like lower taxes and higher wages.

“It’s not lost on most migrants that the U.S. dollar is 25% stronger than the Canadian,” Bose says.

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