96,917 Indians were caught attempting to enter the US illegally (Representational)
In a recent report by the United States Customs and Border Protection, as many as 96,917 Indians were caught attempting to enter the US illegally between October 2022 and September 2023.
Of the 96,917 Indians, 30,010 were caught entering the US illegally through the Canadian border, 41,770 through the Mexican border, and the remaining 25,317 were apprehended after they entered the US mainland. Compared to the numbers from 2019-20, there has been a five-fold increase.
Simultaneously, legal overseas travel for tourism or settlement has also increased. The annual report from the Ministry of Tourism 2022-23 indicates that over two crore Indians chose international destinations for their vacations.
Additionally, more than three crore Indians are currently settled abroad. These individuals are typically referred to as "Overseas Indians". The Ministry of External Affairs data shows that 3,21,00,340 people are currently settled overseas. Of this figure, 1,34,59,195 are Non-Resident Indians (NRI) and 1,86,83,645 are Persons of Indian Origin (PIO).
What is the difference between NRIs and PIOs?
The difference between NRIs and PIOs is clear: An NRI (Non-Resident Indian) is an Indian citizen residing abroad for employment, business, or other reasons, holding an Indian passport. In contrast, a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) is someone with Indian ancestry but possesses a foreign passport and isn't an Indian citizen. While NRIs maintain their Indian citizenship, PIOs are foreign nationals with Indian roots. NRIs have rights like voting in India, which PIOs don't have.
The data shows that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the highest concentration of NRIs, with over 34 lakh residents, followed by Saudi Arabia with 26 lakh and the US with 12.8 lakh.
Interestingly, for PIOs, the US leads the list with 31.8 lakh, trailed by Malaysia and Myanmar, hosting 27.60 lakh and 20 lakh people of Indian origin, respectively.
It is also worth mentioning, countries such as South Africa, Fiji, Singapore, Guyana, Suriname and Indonesia show high concentrations of PIOs. This is the result of the forced labour or slavery during the British Raj. They were taken to these places to work mostly in plantations. These are the people who went there for a better future but never returned.