The United States deported 30 Nepali citizens in March 2025, as confirmed by immigration officials at Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The group, which arrived back in Nepal, included six women and 24 men. This latest wave of deportations brings the total number of Nepalis deported from the US to 58 since President Donald Trump assumed office earlier this year.
Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, the US has deported 56 Nepalis directly to Nepal, while two others were sent to Panama, though their current status remains unclear. The deportations began with six individuals in January, followed by 20 in February—including a single-day removal of six Nepalis on February 8. The numbers surged in March, with a notable incident on March 5 when an ICE deportation flight carrying eight Nepalis landed in Kathmandu. Of those eight, six possessed valid Nepali passports with expiration dates, while the remaining two were issued travel documents by the Nepali Embassy in Washington, D.C.
The deported individuals include some who paid substantial sums to human traffickers to enter the US via Mexico, though exact figures on this subgroup are unavailable. Nepal has consistently accepted its deported citizens without resistance, a policy facilitated by the Nepali Embassy in Washington, which readily issues travel documents upon request from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Comparatively, during the Biden administration’s four-year tenure (2021–2025), ICE arrested 132 Nepalis and deported 130, with over 2,700 others detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the border and transferred to ICE custody. According to ICE reports, 2,891 Nepalis were held in detention over that period.
Annual ICE arrest figures under Biden included 11 in fiscal year (FY) 2021, 30 in FY 2022, 56 in FY 2023, and 35 in FY 2024, with some detainees convicted of various crimes—10 in FY 2024 and 11 in FY 2023. Deportations during this time totaled 130, with 23 in FY 2021, 28 in FY 2022, 22 in FY 2023, and 57 in FY 2024.
The Biden years also saw a dramatic rise in Nepalis attempting to enter the US without visas, with nearly 9,000 recorded by the Department of Homeland Security—compared to 1,850 during Trump’s first term (2017–2021). In FY 2024 alone, 3,690 Nepalis crossed the border undocumented, the highest annual figure in recent years. Since FY 2025 began in October 2024, an additional 440 entered in October and 300 in November.
Under Biden’s “catch and release” policy, not all apprehended Nepalis were detained by ICE—only about 2,800 of the nearly 9,000 were held, with others released into the US.
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Dipendra Dhungana
View More PostsDipendra Dhungana is a journalist based in Kathmandu with over a decade of experience in photojournalism. He currently works for Nepal’s national daily newspaper, Naya Patrika Daily. His work has been featured in numerous national and international outlets, showcasing the stories and resilience of the Nepali people. He is also a contributing journalist for NepYork.
