Many of the Indians deported from the United States had reached the Mexico-US border just last month or towards the end of December, The Indian Express has learnt after speaking to several of them and to sources in the police. Of the 104, 30 were from Punjab and 33 from Gujarat. At least 15 each from Punjab and Gujarat were detained at the Mexico-US border as they allegedly tried to enter the US amid stricter border control under the new administration of President Donald Trump. Story continues below this ad According to the deportees, they spent between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1 crore in expenses and agent fees in their efforts to reach the US, mostly through what is known as the “dunki route” – unauthorised, and often perilous, ways of getting to the US that usually involve travel through multiple countries and different modes of transport. The aircraft carried 104 Indians from Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chandigarh. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi) For instance, 21-year-old Pardeep Singh, from Jurait village in Mohali, left …