India, Feb. 6 -- For decades, North America has been the promised land for Punjabi immigrants - an anxious gateway to prosperity and a better life. Families in Punjab have invested generations of savings to send their young abroad, often through legal channels, but sometimes through dangerous and exploitative back doors. The dream was simple: A better future, a stable life, and economic success. However, the game has changed.

When Donald Trump entered the White House for a second term, his stringent immigration policies sent shock waves through immigrant communities - legal immigrants in the queue (including thousands from Venezuela) suddenly found themselves on tricky terrain; and illegal ones, who had hitherto benefited from administra...