U.S. to Deport More Than 42 Nepalis on Sunday in the Largest Single-Day Deportation in History

On Sunday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chartered flight is set to deport more than 42 Nepali citizens from the United States to Nepal, landing at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport at 4:00 PM local time.

According to Nepal’s Department of Immigration, this operation represents the largest single-day deportation of Nepalis in history—a significant escalation in U.S. immigration enforcement actions targeting Nepali nationals.

Initially, immigration authorities were informed that 48 individuals would be deported, but last-minute cancellations reduced the number to an estimated 42 to 45. The reasons for these cancellations remain undisclosed, with sources indicating that travel was halted for three to six individuals.

While the Department of Immigration has not provided a gender breakdown, it revealed that many of the deportees had paid human traffickers up to $100,000 to enter the U.S. illegally, primarily through Mexico without valid visas.

Upon arrival in Kathmandu, the deportees will be transferred to Nepal’s Human Trafficking Control Bureau for processing. Historically, the bureau has conducted brief inquiries before releasing deportees to their homes, with no reports of extended detention for those returned from the U.S.

The Nepali Embassy in Washington, D.C., noted that it lacks precise details about the individuals on Sunday’s flight. However, it confirmed that, at ICE’s request, it has issued numerous travel documents for Nepalis detained in the U.S. and in transit countries such as Panama, though exact figures remain undisclosed by both U.S. and Nepali authorities.

This mass deportation follows a sharp rise in Nepali removals in 2025. In May alone, 58 Nepali men were deported—a 123% increase from April’s 26. Since the start of the Trump administration on January 20, 2025, a total of 140 Nepalis have been deported from the U.S., with an additional two deported from Panama.

This total includes two previous ICE-chartered flights to Kathmandu. The surge reflects stricter U.S. immigration policies targeting undocumented migrants, many of whom entered via Mexico through human trafficking networks.

By comparison, only 52 Nepalis were deported from the U.S. in all of 2024. The 140 deportations in just the first five months of 2025 nearly triple that figure. Historical data show 24 deportations in 2023, 22 in 2022, and 35 in 2021, with a total of 133 Nepalis deported between January 17, 2021, and December 30, 2024. The shift from commercial to chartered flights highlights the expanding scale of current operations.

At Tribhuvan International Airport, deportees typically undergo brief questioning by the Immigration Bureau before being released. While suspicions of trafficking involvement persist, comprehensive investigations into these networks remain limited.

All 140 deportees in 2025, including the 58 removed in May, were adults. While it is unclear whether restraints were used during transit, immigration officials have described the repatriation process as routine.

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