Khabarmala Correspondent
Since President Donald Trump assumed office as the new president of the United States, a total of 455 Nepali nationals have been deported so far. With 75 deportations on December 17 alone, the cumulative number has reached more than 450 Nepalis. Compared year to year, no previous year has seen such a high number of Nepali deportations.

According to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), around 140 Nepalis were deported between 2021 and 2024. However, in just 11 months of 2025, the number of deportations has climbed to 455. The yearly breakdown shows 38 deportations in 2021, 24 in 2022, 25 in 2023, and 53 in 2024.

U.S. government reports state that ICE has targeted undocumented immigrants, and more than 3,500 Nepalis currently have deportation orders. It is reported that many of those deported under the current Trump administration are individuals who had already received deportation orders earlier.

According to the Department of Immigration, 69 men and 6 women were among those deported. The Nepali nationals deported from the U.S. arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Thursday evening, the department said. As in the past, they were handed over to the Nepal Police’s Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, according to the airport immigration office.

Large numbers of individuals who used illegal routes or overstayed their visas have been deported through chartered flights. It is said that the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has had a serious impact on the Nepali community. Many Nepalis reportedly paid large sums to smugglers and entered the U.S. via illegal routes through Brazil–Colombia–Panama, violated visa conditions, or, in the case of students, worked illegally or failed to renew their enrollment.

Most of the deported Nepalis appear to be from western districts such as Dang and Rukum, who had gone to the U.S. in search of a better life, education, or permanent residency.