A recent report from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that 572 individuals were deported from the United States to Uzbekistan between September 2023 and September 2024. This marks an increase in deportations compared to previous years, with the number of deportations nearly doubling from 142,580 in the same period last year to 271,484 in 2024, the highest total in a decade.
The surge in deportations is attributed to the expansion of flight operations, including weekend flights, and more streamlined procedures for returning migrants to various countries. The U.S. government has resumed deportation flights to nations such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and for the first time in six years, China. Other countries receiving deported individuals include Albania, Egypt, Georgia, India, Romania, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The number of Uzbeks deported from the U.S. has also seen a dramatic rise. In 2024, 572 Uzbeks were deported, a staggering 6.5-fold increase from the previous year. This comes in sharp contrast to just 21 Uzbeks deported in 2021 and 55 in 2022. The last recorded figure in 2013 was just 88 individuals.
The increase in deportations reflects a broader trend in which citizens of Uzbekistan, along with other Central Asian nations, are attempting to enter the United States illegally. Many Uzbek citizens are using a complex route that includes traveling through Uzbekistan, Turkey, Spain, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, and eventually reaching the U.S. border.
Between 2021 and 2023, an estimated 13,600 Uzbeks attempted to cross into the United States via Mexico. In total, over 50,000 individuals from Central Asia were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2023.
The rising number of deportations of Uzbeks coincides with political developments in the U.S. In February 2024, a group of Uzbek citizens who had entered the U.S. through Mexico filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden's administration over their deportations.
The issue of deportation and immigration enforcement is expected to intensify in the coming years, particularly with the return of Donald Trump to the political spotlight.
Trump, who has made stricter immigration policies a focal point of his campaign, has stated that he would pursue mass deportations if elected, citing the need to reverse what he perceives as the "soft" immigration policies under the Biden administration. Trump has even suggested the use of military force to carry out these deportations.
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