Illegal entrants to US return to Doaba with shattered dreams, stare at heavy loans

Under quarantine for the moment, all of them took a loan between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh on high-interest rate from private financiers and selling land

For 20-odd illegal entrants to the US from Doaba districts of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala, all of whom returned to the country in a special flight of deportees from that country on May 19, the big worry of repayment of loans they took to fund their travel stares at them. Under quarantine for the moment, all of them took a loan between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh on high-interest rate from private financiers and selling land.

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Ranjogh Singh, 21, (name changed) of Bhogpur in Jalandhar district, said, “Travel agents duped us and got us to take an illegal route. I reached Mexico only in September last year, where the agents dumped me. I hired a new agent to help me cross the Mexico border to reach the US, where we were caught and kept in a detention centre.”

The only child in the family, Ranjogh says his mother paid ₹9 lakh to another agent, Jasso, of Jalandhar, who promised to get him released from the detention centre, but were duped again. “My US dream has ended in a nightmare. The agent, Jassi, will have to return my money and I will open a shop here.”

Jatinder Singh, 26, of Dhirpur village left his house on July 11, travelling through the four countries of Dubai, Russia, finally entering America through Mexico on September 20. He too, however, was caught and remained in a detention centre. “I paid Rs 25 lakh to the agent. I request everyone who is planning to go the US to only take the proper route. We lost everything in trying the illegal route.”

Rakesh Kumar, 21, of Hoshiarpur took a flight to Mexico from India on June 8, landing there on June 10. He entered the US on September 1 and then detention centres followed.

His father Ashok Kumar claims that he got trapped in the sweet talk of a travel agent Ajay Srivastava and agreed to send his son to the US and paid ₹40 lakh (by taking ₹20 lakh on loan and ₹ 20 lakh by selling plot). Rakesh says, “My father is still paying Rs 30,000 a month as interest on loan he took.”