Punjabis biggest group of Indian asylum seekers in US: Study

The states of Punjab and Haryana dominate the list of deportees from the United States in the past couple of years.

- NEERAJ MOHAN

The United States has deported 332 undocumented Indian immigrants in 2025, with 38 percent hailing from Punjab, followed by Haryana (33%) and Gujarat (22%).

A study by Johns Hopkins University highlights the increasing trend of illegal migration from India, particularly from these states, driven by economic aspirations and facilitated by fraudulent travel agents. The recently released study reveals that between 2001 and 2022, nearly 66% of Indian asylum seekers in the US were Punjabi speakers.

As per the data from the report obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), Punjabi speakers have consistently been the largest group of Indian immigrants seeking asylum.

Data collected through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) indicate that Punjabi speakers have consistently represented the largest group among Indian immigrants involved in asylum claims since 2001. Between 2001 and 2022, two-thirds (66%) of asylum cases involving Indian nationals were filed by Punjabi speakers.