Rukum West, March 7 -- Almost every village in Rukum East and Rukum West has stories of local young men and women paying hefty sums to cross multiple borders illegally to get to the United States. Some have succeeded but many have been detained, deported or stranded in foreign lands.

The impact of Donald Trump's re-election and stricter immigration policies that followed in its wake is being felt in remote Nepali villages. Parents who invested millions to send their children abroad now fear they may be sent back, leaving them in financial ruin.

A middle-aged man from Banphikot Rural Municipality-3 in Rukum West spent over Rs3.1 million to send his eldest daughter, aged 31, to the US four years ago. Seeing her start to earn, his other ch...