Even as it has become a major bilateral issue between the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the border between Canada and the United States has seen a surge in illegal immigration by Indian nationals into America in recent years.
According to data on encounters at the northern border from the US Customs and Border Protection, the number of Indians attempting to enter the United States illegally grew to 22 per cent of the total, which, in itself, has also increased.
The USCBP provides data according to its fiscal year, which runs from October to September the next year. In 2022, of the overall 109,535 such attempted crossings into the US, Indians comprised nearly 16 per cent. That percentage remained constant in 2023, though the figures rose sharply to a total of 189,402, with Indians accounting for 30,010. There has been an appreciable increase this year, with 43,764 Indians, close to 22 per cent of the total 198,929, trying to enter the US illegally.
The data, of course, is limited to those that were apprehended by border officers, and the numbers of those not detected are unavailable.
{{/usCountry}}The data, of course, is limited to those that were apprehended by border officers, and the numbers of those not detected are unavailable.
{{/usCountry}}Trump's border crackdown
The border issue is among those Donald Trump has already said Canada has to resolve if it is to escape a 25 per cent tariff. This was among the issues discussed when Trudeau made an unannounced visit to Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Friday to join Trump for the US Thanksgiving, according to Canadian media. Accompanying Trudeau was Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc, who is in charge of the CBP’s counterpart, the Canadian Border Services Agency.
According to an analysis by the Washington DC-based think tank Niskanen Center in September this year, “Canada is increasingly a more accessible entry point for Indians.” That, it explained, was because the processing time for an average Canadian visitor visa was 76 days, while the wait time for an appointment for a similar US document is nearly a year. “The US-Canada border is also longer and less guarded than the US-Mexico border,” it added.
The Khalistan issue may be a contributory factor, as it said, “Given that many recent irregular migrants from India are originating from Punjab, a predominantly Sikh state, and are increasingly crossing through Canada while being granted asylum at high rates in the US, this issue has the potential to become a point of trilateral contention in the future.”
It added that for now “there appears to be a tacit understanding among Indian policymakers that most of these migrants are driven by economic motives and are unlikely to become seriously involved in separatist politics once they settle in the US.”