‘Deport by USA’: social media abuzz with stories of illegal immigrants and ‘donkey route’
As over 120 deportees have returned to Punjab, their journeys to the US through perilous routes capture attention online.
6 min read
Earlier, a few videos of the “donkey route” went viral on various social media. They were shared by Haryana-based Akash, a deportee who returned on February 5. (Express Photo) Days have passed since US deportees returned to India on three flights, but social media is still abuzz with their stories. Among the latest posts shared by deportees is a video that Gurvinder Singh, from Nangal village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, made while crossing Panama’s jungle on foot in the dead of the night.
Gurvinder and a few other Punjabi men are seen travelling in a small boat, before wading through ankle-deep water in the jungle in biting cold, holding torches. He had shared the video with his brother after reaching near Mexico, where reception was good, he told reporters on Monday.
Gurvinder began his journey on December 22, 2024, starting from his home, reaching Delhi from his village, and later flying from Mumbai to Guyana, Brazil and Colombia. From Colombia, they crossed the Panama jungles on foot. He, along with 22 others, crossed a wall in Mexico and entered the US on February 1, where they were arrested and deported after a fortnight. He arrived at Amritsar airport on a military plane along with other deportees on February 16.
Gurvinder, whose ‘donkey route’ video has gone viral, told reporters, “I had spent Rs 50 lakh after selling off land and taking a loan, but now I am in debt.”
A short video featuring a 7-8 seater autorickshaw is also gaining traction online for a message written on the vehicle’s back and on a side—“Deport by USA”—alongside an American flag.
The yellow vehicle bears the number PB06, indicating it is from Gurdaspur. The background song in the video thus goes: “Sada area painda border ni/na chalde kise de order ni/ ghar baliyan di bhanve chhatt hove/ Par jigre sadde garder ni” (Our area lies near the border, yet we follow no one’s orders/Even if our homes have wooden beam roofs which are considered weak, our spirits are strong as iron rods which never surrender). These lines, written by Karan Randhawa, are from the recently released Punjabi movie Majhail. On the front mirror is a sticker with the Canadian flag, reflecting the vehicle owner’s aspiration to settle abroad.
Jagraj Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gurdaspur, told The Indian Express, “The auto number is from Gurdaspur, and the reel was posted on Instagram on February 8. However, the auto driver has not been found on the road since. Perhaps he did it to gain popularity on social media.”
Another video with a similar message on a truck from Phagwara is also going viral. Raja, a dealer of pre-owned cars based in Ludhiana, said, “We heard that a few people who are not even recent deportees are getting such stickers pasted on their vehicles to gain sympathy and support for more business—which is strange. In Phagwara, someone got it done. Vehicles are not visible on the roads, but reels are going viral.”
Over 120 deportees from Punjab have returned so far this year.
Earlier, a few videos of the “donkey route” went viral on various social media. They were shared by Haryana-based Akash, a deportee who returned on February 5.
In the comments section of the autorickshaw video, a user suggested the message should have been “deported by the USA” instead of “Deport by USA”. “Perhaps due to this English only, they would have deported,” reads one comment.
Another user wrote, “Hats off to the spirit of Punjabis… but tomorrow, if someone comes from jail after committing a crime, will anyone write ‘return from central jail’?”
Yet another user pointed out the difference between “returned from USA” and “returned by USA”’
With the deportees facing backlash and embarrassment as well, an AI-generated song in the voice of the late singer Sidhu Moosewala that appears to sympathise with them is also going viral. The song titled 295 2.0 features lyrics sung to the tune of Moosewala’s popular song 295.
A few lines from the song state: “40-40 lakh lakh ke bahar aaye si… siran te karje de bhoj paye si mehne dinda sara hi Punjab kaston (we had come to a foreign land by spending Rs 40 lakh or more after taking loans… the whole Punjab is targeting us for what purpose?)”.
There are social media pages featuring “donkey route” videos. Titled “America donkey,” “USA donkey route,” etc, these pages show the purported journeys of illegal immigrants through the jungle of Panama, as well as through the sea and canals, even though their veracity has not been established. They promote the “donkey routes” and contain regular updates about deportation flights.
Videos by Gurvinder and Akash reveal that people often document their journeys and send the footage to family members for informational purposes. “After jumping the wall, the men enter the US and strike their thighs, show victory signs and even do push-ups, as shown in a few old videos. Nevertheless, the US had been watching all this, and the outcome is before us all,” said Vinay Kumar Hari, an overseas-education consultant based in Chandigarh.
Many songs promoting “donkey routes” have been released over the years, such as Trump, America Wala, America 2.0 and Snake. Singers of such songs also claim that illegal immigrants are doing better than those who followed legal means of immigration.
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