The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 572 citizens of Uzbekistan from the country between January and September of this year, according to a report by the American agency, Gazeta.uz reports.
This figure is 6.5 times higher than the same period in 2023, when 88 Uzbek citizens were deported. For comparison, 55 Uzbek citizens were deported during the same period in 2022, 21 in 2021, 49 in 2020, and 45 in 2019.
In total, the U.S. deported about 271,500 foreign nationals, a 1.9-fold increase compared to the first nine months of last year. This data reflects a tightening of U.S. immigration policies.
Several factors contributed to the increase in deportations, including reduced requirements for passenger list notifications and the ability to operate charter flights on weekends.
Notably, "intensive diplomatic efforts" by U.S. agencies have increased the number of charter flights to the Eastern Hemisphere. These included the first major deportation charter flight to China since 2018 and flights to Albania, Angola, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Mauritania, Romania, Senegal, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan leads Russia, other Central Asian countries, and several other nations in the number of deported citizens:
- Russia — 464;
- Afghanistan — 132;
- Tajikistan — 77;
- Kyrgyzstan — 69;
- Ukraine — 53;
- Armenia — 27;
- Kazakhstan — 23;
- Azerbaijan — 13;
- Turkmenistan — 5.
The leading countries in total deportations remain Mexico (87,298), Guatemala (66,435), Honduras (45,923), El Salvador (15,284), Colombia (14,268), and Ecuador (12,921), where tens of thousands of migrants were sent back.
In October 2023, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that over 13,600 Uzbek citizens were detained while attempting to enter the U.S. via Mexico. In November, the U.S. announced it would no longer allow Uzbek citizens attempting to enter via Mexico into the country. Instead, they began detaining them until their immigration cases were resolved.
In December of last year, nearly 120 Uzbek citizens attempting to enter the U.S. illegally were sent back to their homeland. Most of these individuals tried to cross the border via Mexico.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 24, 2024