Washington: Illegal immigration from India to the United States has dropped sharply, with US border authorities recording 20,614 encounters with Indian migrants through May of FY2026, down 69% from the same period till May in FY2023, when illegal migration from India peaked at more than 67,000 encounters.
An HT analysis of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data shows illegal crossings at both US land borders have fallen dramatically. Encounters with Indian migrants attempting to cross the southwestern border from Mexico have plunged 99%, while those along the northern border with Canada have fallen 91%.
What the data reveals
The CBP tracks data from October to September, the US government’s fiscal year. Between October 2025 and May 2026, it recorded 20,614 encounters with Indian migrants nationwide, down from nearly 29,000 during the same period in FY2025. At its peak during a comparable 8 month period between October and May in FY2023, encounters involving Indian migrants had surged to 67,212.
The nearly 70% decline from the FY2023 peak is largely attributable to the Trump administration’s tougher immigration policies. Its refusal to grant asylum to migrants arriving at US borders has been a major factor behind the decline, according to Gilbert Guerra of the Niskanen Center.
{{/usCountry}}The nearly 70% decline from the FY2023 peak is largely attributable to the Trump administration’s tougher immigration policies. Its refusal to grant asylum to migrants arriving at US borders has been a major factor behind the decline, according to Gilbert Guerra of the Niskanen Center.
{{/usCountry}}“I think what we’ve seen is that making it so that people do not think that they actually have a chance of a good outcome if they come here through these channels does have an impact because these trips are expensive. They are not ones that people can try again and again the way that they could if they were from, say, Guatemala, and could just very easily try if they fail first. It’s a lot of money to invest to put forth towards an outcome,” says Guerra of illegal migrants from India.
The sharpest declines have been along the US land borders. Just 417 encounters with Indian migrants were recorded at the southwestern border through May of FY2026, down dramatically by nearly 99% from 30,109 during the same period in FY2023. Along the northern border, authorities recorded 2,250 encounters, down 91% from the same period in FY2024. Crossings along the northern border remain comparatively higher because Canada — unlike Mexico — has a large Indian diaspora, making it a more attractive transit point for migrants, Guerra said.
Despite the decline, Guerra expects irregular migration from India to remain higher than from countries such as Russia and China.