Seven Nepalis Deported From U.S. in October, All Men
Deported Nepali nationals arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Photo: Gopal Dahal/RSS
KATHMANDU — Seven Nepali citizens were deported from the United States and returned to Nepal in October, all of them men, according to the latest figures from Nepal’s Department of Immigration.
The October deportations came after eight Nepalis were returned in August. The department has not yet provided September figures.
The number of Nepalis deported from the United States has fallen sharply since the beginning of 2026, when U.S. authorities used charter flights to return large groups of people to Kathmandu.
Five Nepalis were deported in July, including four men and one woman. In June, nine were returned, including seven men and two women. August’s eight deportees included five men and three women.
Although the October total was lower than the August figure, deportations have continued through regular commercial flights as large-scale charter operations have stopped or been disrupted.
Nepal’s Immigration Department previously told NepYork that no charter flight carrying deported Nepalis had arrived in the country for about 6 months. The department said it did not know why the charter flights had stopped.
Officials also said that no Nepali citizens had been returned from the United States on charter flights since the war in the Middle East began. However, they cautioned that they could not establish whether the conflict was responsible for the decline in deportations.
Large Charter Flights Drove Early-2026 Deportations
The pattern was markedly different during the first months of 2026.
In January, 101 Nepalis were deported from the United States, including 80 people brought to Kathmandu on a single charter flight. The group included 79 men and one woman.
Another 130 Nepalis were deported in February, the highest monthly total recorded so far this year. Of those, 95 were returned on a charter flight.
In March, 43 Nepalis were returned. In early April, U.S. authorities again used a charter flight to return 45 Nepalis to Kathmandu. The large-scale deportations generated concern within Nepal’s diaspora community.
The pattern changed in May. No charter flight was used, and 15 Nepalis were returned on commercial flights.
Following the disruption of charter flights, smaller numbers of Nepalis have continued to arrive in Kathmandu on regular commercial flights.
Rejected Asylum Claims Leave Some Nepalis Facing Deportation
U.S. immigration authorities have intensified efforts to remove foreign nationals whose asylum claims have been rejected, those who remain in the country after their visas expire and people who entered the United States without authorization through the southern border.
Some Nepalis who paid brokers between $40,000 and $80,000 to reach the United States through dangerous and unauthorized routes have subsequently faced deportation after their asylum claims were denied.
Many had traveled through multiple countries and relied on smugglers and informal networks to reach the United States. For some, rejection of their asylum applications has left them vulnerable to removal proceedings and detention.
Nepalis deported to Kathmandu are processed by immigration authorities before being referred to Nepal Police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau in cases requiring further investigation.
The bureau seeks to assess whether deportees were victims of human trafficking or exploitation and investigate brokers and networks involved in arranging their journeys to the United States. Authorities also seek information about the amounts paid to brokers and the routes used to enter the country.
Immigration Enforcement Has Intensified Under Trump
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has been enforcing removal orders against immigrants subject to deportation, including people whose immigration applications have been denied or who have otherwise lost the legal basis to remain in the United States.
Some Nepali nationals have been among those facing removal after receiving final orders from immigration courts. Others have been detained after entering the United States without authorization or after falling out of lawful immigration status.
The end of Nepal’s Temporary Protected Status has also added uncertainty for thousands of Nepali immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security announced in August 2025 that TPS protection for Nepal was ending, after the country had been designated for the program following the 2015 earthquake.
The department’s data show that deported Nepalis in recent months have included people from districts such as Dang, Rukum, Salyan and Banke in western Nepal. Some had initially entered the United States without visas, according to immigration-related records cited by Nepali authorities.
Removal Orders Rose Sharply in 2025 and 2026
The number of Nepali nationals receiving removal orders in U.S. immigration courts has increased substantially during Trump’s second term.
According to data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review compiled by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, U.S. immigration judges issued 1,162 removal orders to Nepali nationals between January 2025 and June 2026. That represents about one-quarter of all removal orders recorded for Nepalis since 1998.
The figure includes 783 removal orders issued in calendar year 2025 and another 379 during the first six months of 2026.
For comparison, immigration courts issued 644 removal orders to Nepali nationals during the four years of the Biden administration, from January 2021 through December 2024. During Trump’s first term, from January 2017 through December 2020, the courts issued 864 such orders.
When Trump’s two terms are combined, 2,006 removal orders have been issued against Nepali nationals, or about 43 percent of the 4,639 orders recorded in the TRAC data since 1998.
In fiscal year 2025, immigration judges heard 1,837 cases involving Nepali nationals. They issued 569 removal orders and granted relief in 378 cases. In the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, judges heard 941 cases, issuing 634 removal orders and granting relief in 72 cases.
The share of cases resulting in relief fell from 20.58 percent in fiscal 2025 to 7.65 percent during the first nine months of fiscal 2026.
A Long-Term Increase in Removal Orders
The increase is particularly pronounced when viewed against the historical record.
TRAC data show that U.S. immigration courts issued 28 removal orders against Nepali nationals in 1998, 42 in 1999 and 50 in 2000. The number reached 100 in 2008 and continued climbing during the following decade.
There were 122 orders in 2009, 129 in 2010, 237 in 2011, 180 in 2012, 183 in 2013, 187 in 2014, 127 in 2015, 107 in 2016, 139 in 2017, 218 in 2018 and 349 in 2019.
The number fell during the coronavirus pandemic, to 170 in 2020 and 48 in 2021, before rising to 163 in 2022, 204 in 2023 and 196 in 2024.
The 783 removal orders issued in 2025 were more than four times the 196 issued in 2024.
ICE Arrested 388 Nepalis in 13 Months
Separate data compiled and processed by the Deportation Data Project from ICE records show that the agency arrested 388 Nepali nationals between February 2025 and February 2026.
Of those, 124 — about 31.9 percent — either had criminal convictions or were facing pending criminal charges. ICE records show that 53 had previous criminal convictions and 71 faced pending criminal charges.
The remaining 264 arrests were classified as involving immigration violations without a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge.
The monthly number of arrests ranged from five in April 2025 to 48 in November. There were 29 arrests in February 2025, 15 in March, five in April, 27 in May, 39 in June, 27 in July, 35 in August, 35 in September, 38 in October, 48 in November and 42 in December. ICE arrested 29 Nepalis in January 2026 and 19 in February.
Of the 388 people arrested, 370 were men, 17 were women and one was listed with an unknown gender.
ICE records showed that 174 had final removal orders, while 195 did not yet have final orders. The status of 19 was unknown. A total of 156 had been deported to Nepal by the time covered by the data.
The underlying ICE records were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and processed by the Deportation Data Project. Its latest public release includes ICE enforcement data through 2026.
Deportations Had Also Risen Late in 2025
The number of Nepalis actually deported to Nepal increased sharply toward the end of 2025.
According to Nepal’s Immigration Department figures, 80 Nepalis were deported in November and 98 in December. On one December flight, 75 Nepalis were returned to Kathmandu, including 69 men and six women.
The monthly totals for 2025 were six deportations in January, 18 in February, 32 in March, 26 in April, 58 in May, 42 in June, 17 in July, 16 in August, 53 in September and 38 in October, followed by the sharp increases in November and December.
The subsequent decline in 2026 represents a significant change in the number of Nepalis physically returned to Nepal, even as U.S. immigration courts have continued issuing removal orders at a high rate.
“The distinction is important: A removal order does not necessarily mean immediate deportation. A person can remain in the United States while pursuing an appeal or another form of legal protection, while others may be detained and removed later,” said New York-based immigration attorney Keshab Raj Seadie.