Uzbekistan’s media report on the return of dozens of Uzbek nationals who were deported from the United States after making it into the country unlawfully.

UzReport.news, a private broadcasting outlet, reports that 74 Uzbeks who entered the USA illegally were sent back to Uzbekistan on March 3. 

The same day, they reportedly arrived in Tashkent International Airport, where UzReport.news carried interviews with some of the returnees. 

One of them said he had spent 10,000 US dollars on getting to the United States.  According to him, he left home in July and arrived in the United States in August, but he could not find a job.

He further noted that he had lost his luggage and ended up unexpectedly in Madrid.  After enduring difficulties there for 14 days with 400 other Uzbeks, they were deported to Turkiye.  From Turkiye, they attempted to enter Guatemala but were unsuccessful.   

He reportedly advised against making the journey, describing it as deceptive and fraught with illness.

UzReport.news says this incident follows repatriation on December 20, 2023 of 119 Uzbeks who illegally entered the United States.   

Eurasianet reports that that the US Government has said that 13,000 Uzbeks were detained trying to enter the United States illegally between 2021 and 2023.  

Recall, Daily Mail reported on February 29 that Republican Senator` Steve told reporters at a press conference on February 27 that a 'high-level individual from Central Asia' warned him that over 50,000 Central Asians crossed illegally into the United States last year. 

Currently, at least 40,000 Central Asian nationals are awaiting U.S. asylum court proceedings, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a non-profit that tracks asylum court hearings.  Of those Central Asian nationals 17,000 are from Uzbekistan, 7,000 are from Kyrgyzstan, 3,000 are from Tajikistan, 2,700 are from Kazakhstan and 2,000 from Turkmenistan