Key agent held by police exposes donkey routes to US

A 20-year-old tenth-pass passenger was deported from the USA for allegedly entering through an illegal route.

RAHUL GAHLAWAT | SNS |  New Delhi | February 21, 2025 : A20-year-old tenth-pass passenger was deported from the USA for allegedly entering through an illegal route. He revealed three donkey routes, mostly used by the gullible aspirants to reach the developed nation.

A scrutiny of the passenger’s travel documents by the Indian authorities revealed that some pages of his passport were missing, hinting that either a fake Visa was affixed or fake stamps were used.

On a detailed analysis, the cops found that the passenger, on the direction of the agent, left India in October 2023 through Kazakhstan, Dubai, Senegal, Libya, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico and finally entered the USA after traveling for more than 13 months, stated Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGIA) Usha Rangnani.

After reaching the United States, he removed some pages of his passport containing those fake visas and stamps on the directions of the agent but was caught by authorities, and based on a tempered visa, he was kept in detention for more than two months before he was deported to India, Rangnani mentioned.

The police registered a case against the agent under relevant sections of BNS and Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act at IGIA Police station. The agent, identified as Amit Arora was apprehended, who was involved in arranging illegal journeys to the USA through donkey routes.

Stating the donkey routes, which refer to the illegal pathways used for human trafficking, the movement of migrants was facilitated by agents. Currently, there are three routes used for illegal journeys to the US.

The most used route involves journeys from India to Kazakhstan, then to Dubai, Senegal, Libya, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala to Mexico and then crossing the border to the USA.

Another route used by the illegal immigrants involved traveling to South American and Caribbean Countries using ‘Visa on Arrival’ facilities at places like El Salvador, Curacao, Nicaragua, and Suriname to enter Mexico and finally to the USA.

The third route to Europe involves transit through countries like Poland, Belarus, Turkey, Greece, and Italy.

These routes are preferred due to various factors like — exploiting loopholes to obtain visas, and flights that are cheaper and have good availability.

As per the cops, in 2024, as many as 21 agents were held for fraud activities including fake visa stamps and for arranging travel on fake passports. Six agents were nabbed by the authorities during this year.