Shifting Trends in Indian Illegal Immigration to the US
The landscape of illegal immigration from India to the United States is undergoing significant change. While Punjabi-speaking asylum seekers accounted for 66% of all undocumented Indian migrants in the US between 2001 and 2022, recent trends indicate a sharp rise in Hindi-speaking immigrants.
A study conducted by two researchers from Johns Hopkins University revealed that from 2001 to 2022, Punjabi speakers dominated asylum petitions filed by Indian nationals, comprising about two-thirds of the total cases. In contrast, Hindi speakers accounted for only 14% of asylum seekers during this period. However, between 2017 and 2022, the number of Hindi-speaking undocumented immigrants grew by 30%, marking a substantial shift in migration patterns.
According to court records accessed through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), Punjabi-speaking individuals have been the most prominent asylum seekers from India for over two decades.
The findings of the Johns Hopkins study were published on February 10, coinciding with a series of deportations of undocumented Indian immigrants from the US. On February 5, a flight carrying 104 deportees landed in India. Another plane with 119 undocumented Indians is scheduled to arrive in Amritsar on February 15, followed by a third deportation flight on February 16.
A Pew Research report estimates that approximately 675,000 undocumented Indians currently reside in the US, out of a total Indian-origin population of 5.1 million.
Indian Asylum Seekers in the US Surge by 470% in Five Years
The number of Indian asylum seekers in the US has skyrocketed in recent years. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Indian asylum applications jumped from 6,000 in 2020 to over 51,000 in 2023, reflecting an eightfold increase. Over the past five years, asylum claims by Indian nationals have surged by 470%.
Between 2001 and 2022, Punjabi speakers accounted for 66% of all Indian asylum petitions, suggesting that most applicants originated from Punjab or neighboring states such as Haryana. However, there has been a noticeable increase in undocumented migrants from Hindi-speaking regions in recent years.
Historically, Hindi speakers represented around 14% of Indian asylum claims. However, TRAC data shows that their share nearly doubled to 30% between 2017 and 2022, reflecting a diversification of Indian migrants seeking refuge in the US.
Other language groups have also contributed to asylum cases.
- English speakers accounted for approximately 8% of asylum petitions.
- Gujarati speakers made up 7% of total claims.
The volume of asylum petitions filed by these linguistic groups is significantly higher than those from other Indian languages.
Asylum Approval Rates Vary by Language Group
The likelihood of receiving asylum status varies based on linguistic and regional backgrounds.
- 63% of Punjabi-speaking applicants were granted asylum.
- 25% of Gujarati-speaking petitioners received approval.
The evolving patterns of Indian migration suggest that asylum-seeking trends are shifting beyond traditional Punjabi-speaking migrants, with an increasing number of Hindi speakers and other linguistic groups entering the process.