Ejected from US, rejected by Bhutan and Nepal: Himalayan refugees face statelessness

Time of India

6 days ago

More than two dozen Bhutanese refugees who were forcibly deported from the
United States
this spring, in a move that stunned resettled communities across America, have found themselves in devastating legal limbo after
Bhutan
refused to accept them upon arrival. Instead of a homecoming, the deportees were rejected at the border, leaving them stateless and adrift—most now confined once again to refugee camps in
Nepal
.
Nepal has said it cannot grant these refugees legal status and is in negotiations with the US government for a possible solution, but so far, no country has agreed to offer citizenship or permanent refuge.
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Who are the refugees?
The affected are primarily
Lhotshampa
, a Nepali-speaking ethnic minority forcibly driven out of Bhutan in the 1990s. Over 100,000 were housed in sprawling camps in eastern Nepal, and beginning in 2007, many resettled in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK as part of a UN-led solution.
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Ramesh Sanyasi, 24 was born in the Beldangi refugee camp in Nepal and migrated legally to the United States at age 10, becoming part of Pennsylvania's vibrant Bhutanese resettled community. He worked at an Amazon warehouse, hoping to build a stable future.
Everything changed after a night out with friends led to his arrest for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and providing false identification, according to court records. After serving an eight-month sentence, he was abruptly deported in April 2025: first to New Delhi, and then flown to Paro, Bhutan.
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Upon arrival in Bhutan, Sanyasi and two others were not welcomed—they were instead transported to the border with India. Bhutanese authorities handed each of them 30,000 Indian rupees (about $350) and arranged for someone to ferry them to Panitanki, a town on the India-Nepal border. There, the deportees paid smugglers to secretly cross the Mechi River back into Nepal, returning to the very refugee camp Ramesh had left more than a decade earlier.
'Life here is tough. I'm living without any identification documents, which makes everything challenging. I can't even withdraw money sent by relatives because I lack proper ID,' he told
CNN
. 'For now, I'm surviving on money sent from the US, but once that runs out, I don't know what will happen.'
Why were they deported?
Most, like Sanyasi, were not undocumented but lost their visas due to criminal convictions—sometimes minor, sometimes more severe—under US law. Many completed their sentences before deportation, but once expelled, found themselves returned to countries that neither recognize their citizenship nor accept their return.
At least 30 Bhutanese refugees have been deported by the US to Bhutan so far, all legally admitted to the US as children under a UN-led resettlement program. All deportees so far have been expelled again at the Bhutan border, given cash, and left to fend for themselves in India and, for most, eventually smuggled into Nepal.
According to
Gopal Krishna Siwakoti
, president of the International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development, many deportees are in hiding; some in Nepal, some still lost in India.
Four deportees have now been threatened with a second deportation—this time from Nepal, where they were arrested for illegally crossing the border. However, Nepal's Department of Immigration admits there is nowhere for them to go:
'We are in a dilemma: the US is unlikely to accept them back, and deporting them to Bhutan is not straightforward either,' said department director Tikaram Dhakal.
Life in limbo: The camps of eastern Nepal
For those who remain or have returned to the camps, mostly the elderly or infirm, conditions have evolved: electricity and running water are now present in places like Beldangi Camp, but the end of international aid has led to increased vulnerability, exploitation, and fear of detention. Informal work is the norm, but for many, legal protections are non-existent.
Political stalemate
Efforts for repatriation have repeatedly stalled. Neither Bhutan nor Nepal is party to the 1951
UN Refugee Convention
, complicating formal policy frameworks. Bhutan continues to resist accepting its former citizens, and recent years have seen the exposure of a fraudulent refugee registration scandal, further eroding trust and muddying advocacy efforts.
Diplomatic conversations have inched forward—Nepal announced renewed talks with Bhutan in 2023, but significant progress remains elusive. India, a key regional power, remains a reluctant participant in mediation, and international pressure on Bhutan has waned.
Q. What allowed thousands of Bhutanese refugees to move to the United States?
Most Bhutanese refugees moved to the US through a
UNHCR
and IOM-backed Third Country Resettlement Programme launched in 2007. The US first pledged to take up to 60,000 refugees from Nepali camps, later increasing to more than 80,000, the largest single-country intake. Resettlement was based on refugee status and need, not skills, and included other partner countries—over 100,000 Bhutanese were resettled globally by 2015.
Q. What is the UN Refugee Convention, and why is it important?
The 1951 UN Refugee Convention is a major international treaty that defines refugee rights and the duties of signatory nations. It guarantees non-refoulement (protection from forced return), and the rights to legal status, work, education, and due process. This Convention sets a standard for how refugees are to be protected and integrated by member countries, ensuring basic security and legal recognition.
Q. How does Nepal and Bhutan not joining the Convention affect refugees?
Because Nepal and Bhutan are not signatories, refugees there lack international legal protections—such as the right to residency, documents, protection from deportation, or legal employment. There's no obligation for local integration or citizenship, keeping refugees in prolonged limbo. Legal rights and policies are governed solely by domestic law, leaving refugees vulnerable to changing policies and without international recourse.