Around the time ‘Dunki’ released, an Airbus A340 carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, was detained for four days in France over suspicions of illegal immigration. Reports say there are approximately 725,000 illegal Indian immigrants in the US — the third largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador. US Customs and Border Protection data shows there’s an unprecedented number of undocumented Indians crossing into the US on foot, making for a dramatic spike in recent years. What forces people to take the ‘donkey route’, risking arrest, deportation and even death as they cross borders and oceans with the help of smuggling cartels?

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