Young Indians Have Been Making a ‘Do or Die’ Journey to Live the American Dream

The sun blisters the arid ground in Karnal, a district in India’s northern Haryana state, where empty houses stand testament to an acute problem that’s driving some residents to take unimaginable risks.

There are no jobs here, so young educated locals who dream of a better life are paying thousands of dollars to flee the world’s fastest growing major economy for the United States.

“It is the donkey way,” said law student Ankit Chaudhary. “It is a route which is going through many of the countries and then we will jump the wall of the USA.”

Chaudhary told CNN he paid an agent more than $50,000 to help him cross multiple borders and traverse the dangerous jungles of Latin America to illegally enter the United States.

But he lost his money and the opportunity to flee when his agent was raided.

The risky journey is part of a worrying new trend in the country of 1.4 billion people, and one that could strain ties between the India and the US, where illegal immigration remains a key issue ahead of November’s presidential vote.

In just four years, the number of Indian citizens illegally entering the US has surged dramatically — from 8,027 in the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year to 96,917 during 2022 to 2023 period, government data showed.

Recent Pew research found that as of 2022, Indians made up the third-largest group of undocumented migrants in the US, behind people from Mexico and El Salvador.

The numbers speak to the desperation faced by Indians in the world’s largest democracy and stand in stark contrast to the powerful and robust image that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to project on the world stage. He’s aiming to turn the world’s most populous nation into a global superpower by 2047.

“Viskit Bharat (Developed India) is a nation where no one is too small to dream and no dream is too big to achieve,” Modi said in May. “Viksit Bharat is a nation where social circumstances or birth do not limit anyone’s growth. Everyone, no matter who they are, can aspire to reach the heights of success.”

But not everyone is convinced the dream is real.

Chaudhary is planning to apply for a US visa, but if that fails, he says he will have no choice but to take the dangerous illegal route out.

“People have no source of income, no government jobs. Some people are (hungry),” Chaudhary said. “I have no other option but to migrate.”

Too few jobs

The meandering alleyways of villages in Karnal were empty when CNN visited in July, the gates of some homes padlocked and collecting dust.

There were no young people in sight. Instead, elderly men sat on the stoops outside some homes, smoking hookahs and shuffling cards.

The homes of parents whose children have settled abroad were easily identifiable; swanky bungalows with SUVs parked outside and tractors that had the American flag painted on them, bought with funds sent back home.

During the fiscal year from 2022 to 2023, the unemployment rate of people aged 15 and above in Haryana state stood at 6.1%, according to data released by India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, nearly double the national average for the same period.

But for people age 15 to 24, the number was significantly higher – 45.4% across the country in the same year. Official unemployment rates in developing countries tend to be low because very few people can afford to be unemployed for long, so they take whatever work they can find, however inadequate.

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With an average age of 29 years, India has one of the world’s youngest populations, but the country is not yet able to reap the potential economic benefits of its young workers.

According to a March report by the International Labour Organization, educated Indians between the ages of 15 and 29 are more likely to be unemployed than those without any schooling, reflecting “a mismatch with their aspirations and available jobs.”

“The Indian economy has not been able to create enough remunerative jobs in the non-farm sectors for new educated youth labour force entrants, which is reflected in the high and increasing unemployment rate,” the report said.

Lawyer Muzaffar Chishti, director at the Migration Policy Institute in New York, said “push factors like these are what matter in the decision for people to make the journey.”

Chishti, who has been watching illegal immigration trends into the US, said: “If these young men and women know that there is a good chance, even a 50% chance that they will get into the US … that is a magnet.”

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If they make it to the US, the migrants’ unpredictable journey begins to follow a typical routine as they wait for Customs and Border Protection officers to pick them up, according to Chishti.

“The customs official first must determine whether the person is in physical danger or not. Whether they’re malnourished or not,” he said.

“They give them a bottle of water. At that point, the person (who just crossed into the US) says ‘I’m here to seek asylum.’”

According to US law, if someone claims asylum, they must be given a hearing to make their case. While they wait, the customs official takes them to a processing facility, where they’re given a medical screening. Security checks are conducted, and the migrants are interviewed.

Following the screening, the official decides whether to consider their asylum application, which could take years to process.

While in the US, asylum applicants can apply for employment authorization and must wait at least 180 days for a work permit.

In 2023, 46% of asylum claims from Indian nationals were approved, according to the Justice Department.

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