‘Faced crocodiles, beard forcibly trimmed’: Sikh deportee recounts donkey route to US
Mandeep Singh was arrested by the US Border Patrol on January 27 while trying to sneak into America via Tijuana in Mexico.
Indian national Mandeep Singh, who was caught while trying to enter the United States via the illegal ‘donkey’ route and was in the second batch of 116 illegal immigrants deported by the US to India, has recalled being forced to deal with crocodiles and snakes, trim his beard despite being a Sikh, and going without food for days.
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Mandeep Singh was arrested by the US Border Patrol on January 27 while trying to sneak into America via Tijuana in Mexico.
“When I spoke to my agent, he said within one month I will be taken to America in a legal way. The agent demanded ₹40 lakh, which I paid in two instalments. The journey began with a flight from Amritsar to Delhi last August,” he told reporters outside the Amritsar airport, news agency PTI reported.
The 38-year-old claimed that separately, ‘sub-agents’ demanded ₹20 lakh from him.
"From Delhi, I was taken to Mumbai, then Nairobi (Kenya), and onwards to Amsterdam (The Netherlands) through another nation. From there, we were taken to Suriname. When I reached there, the sub-agents demanded ₹20 lakh, which was paid back home by my family," he said.
The Punjab native then stated that from Suriname, he, along with others, boarded a vehicle which was 'cramped with many people like me,' adding that the group was then taken to Guyana, followed by Bolivia, and finally to Ecuador.
‘Meeting' crocodiles and snakes
It was while crossing the Panama jungles that the group came ‘face-to-face’ with crocodiles and snakes, Mandeep said.
"Here we were told by fellow travellers that if we ask too many questions, we could be shot. For 13 days, we moved through the treacherous route that included 12 canals. Crocodiles, snakes – we had to bear all. Some were given sticks to deal with the dangerous reptiles," he recounted.
On what food they ate, Singh replied that their food was half-baked 'rotis' and sometimes noodles, 'as proper food was a distant thing.'
After crossing Panama, the group navigated through Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and finally, Tijuana, by which time his beard had been trimmed forcibly, he added.
US crackdown on illegal immigrants
New US President Donald Trump, within days of his January 20 swearing in, began sending illegal immigrants to their home countries, including India, on US military planes.
The first batch landed on February 5, and the second and third ones on February 15 and 16, all in Amritsar. A total of 332 deportees – 104, 116, 112 respectively – have been returned so far.
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