New Delhi, July 16 -- The number of Indians attempting to enter the US illegally via the borders with Mexico and Canada after traveling through the donkey route has seen a significant drop in the past year, data from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has shown. According to a report by Hindustan Times, between October 2025 and May 2026, there was a 69 % drop in encounters with illegal immigrants from India on the US border.

CBP data showed that between October 2025 and May 2026, it recorded 20,614 encounters with Indian migrants. The same eight-month period, in FY2023, which saw the highest number of encounters with illegal migrants from India - 67,212.

An "encounter" with an illegal (or undocumented) immigrant refers to any intera...