GUJARATI$ GET MORE PAY, MORE PUNJABIS STAY. PUNJABIS HAVE AN ASYLUM SUCCESS RATE OF 63% AGAINST GUJARATI’S 25% BUT EARN $10,000 LESS THAN GUJARATIS, WHO MAKE $58,000 ON AVERAGE.
‘Unauthorized Indians in the United States: Trends and Development’s highlights the complex dynamics of illegal Indian immigration to the US, revealing sharp differences between Gujaratis and Punjabis.
Gujaratis report higher average income compared to Punjabis. However; Punjabis have significantly better chances of securing asylum. This disparity, researchers suggest, reflects the economic backgrounds of these immigrants and the narratives they present to US authorities. The study reveals that the average personal earnings of Gujaratis in the US stood at $58,000, compared to $48,000. for Punjabis.
However, Gujarati speakers still record the second lowest personal earnings after Punjabi speakers. “This is because compared to speakers of other Indian languages, the shares among them who are unauthorized are likely higher. And so, there are more individuals who are excluded from higher earning professions or industries.
THE COST OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:
The study notes that a vast majority of asylum seekers are economic immigrants facing limited economic opportunities at home. “Even illegality takes money,” whether via the difficult route through Latin America and Mexico, or by posing as international students entering Canada. These costs range from 30 to 100 times India’s per capita income, making such journeys feasible only for those who possess assets that can be pledged or sold, particularly land. The research points out that Punjab and Gujarat, the top origin states for illegal Indian immigrants, rank among India’s more prosperous regions, with land values significantly exceeding the economic returns from agricultural activities.
UNDERSTANDING THE DISDPARITY:
The study notes that among Indian asylum seekers in US immigration courts, Punjabi speakers consistently formed the largest group, making up 66% of all Indian asylum cases between 2001 and 2022. Gujaratis, on the other hand, accounted for only 7% of the cases in the same period.
The reasons for this disparity are rooted both in economic conditions in India and how the system responds to different immigrant narratives. The US asylum is designed to protect individuals facing persecution, not economic hardship.
This legal mismatch leaves Gujarati immigrants at a disadvantage when seeking legal status through asylum.
DO PUNJABIS HAVE A POLITICAL EDGE?:
The study also reveals that Punjabi’s asylum success rate stands at 63%, significantly higher than the 25% success rate for Gujaratis. The Punjabi’s ability to frame their migration as politically motivated, often citing fears of persecution related to Khalistani separatism and tensions with the Indian state.
“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. Following Punjabi, the other common languages spoken by Indian asylum requesters were Hindi (14%), English (8%), and Gujarat (7%) during the same time period.
“According to TRAC data, 63% of cases involving Punjabi speakers were granted asylum. Similarly, a majority of cases (58%) involving Hindi speakers also saw approval. In contrast, only 25% of cases involving Gujarati speakers were approved.”
“Ham-handed policies by the Indian govt targeting Khalistani activists in the West gave further credence to those from Punjab alleging persecution by Indian authorities.” This allows Punjabi immigrants to fit more neatly into the asylum criteria of ‘credible fear,’ compared to Gujaratis, whose primary motivation is economic advancement.
However; without strong asylum claims, the options available to Gujaratis for regularizing their status are limited. This legal precarity contrasts sharply with their financial stability.
WHAT THE CHANGE OF GUARD MEANS:
The study also tracks a dramatic rise in overall Indian asylum claims in the US, from 5,000 in 2021 to over 51,000 in 2023. This surge aligns with a spike in Indian border apprehensions which grew from 1,000 in 2020 to 43,000 in 2023.
With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the situation for unauthorized Indian immigrants, especially seeking asylum, is expected to worsen. Trump’s administration immediately shut down the CBP One app — a key mechanism for asylum seekers to schedule their hearings — effectively canceling nearly 300,000 pending appointments.
GUJARATIS IN LIMBO:
As US authorities tighten enforcement under Trump’s hardline immigration stance, the study predicts that ‘the number of unauthorized Indian immigrants is likely to decline sharply — and even more so from Gujarat.”
This marks a dramatic shift for a community long associated with successful, lawful immigration in the US.
In contrast, the entrenched narrative of Punjabi persecution — whether real or exaggerated — is likely to preserve some avenues of protection, even under tougher immigration policies. The story of Indian migration to the US, the study concludes, is no longer just about skilled professionals on H-1B visas. Instead, it is increasingly shaped by these complex intersections of region, economic class and asylum politics.
The drivers of migration are rooted in both the sending and receiving countries, in this case India and in the US. Both Gujarat and Punjab have a tradition of seeking better lives overseas, with large number of immigrants going to the UK and US, as well as Canada and Australia.
According to the study, India received an estimated $120 billion in remittances in 2023, with the visible impact of the overseas income evident in more opulent homes. This display of prosperity encourages others to migrate not to escape poverty, but rather ‘relative deprivation,’ fearing limited economic prospects in India.
At the same time, an entire industry of agents and brokers facilitating this illegal immigration sprang up in India. India’s home ministry looked the other way since this issue, likely because illegal immigration is much more a burden for receiving than sending countries.
