A United States military C-17 aircraft carrying 104 deported Indian nationals from Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra landed at Amritsar airport last week. The flight, which departed from San Antonio, Texas, also had 11 crew members and 45 US officials on board.
Officials said that the highest number of deportees - 33 each - are from Gujarat and Haryana, followed by 30 from Punjab. Three are from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh each, while two are from Chandigarh.
The deportees include 25 women and 12 minors, with the youngest passenger just four years old. Forty-eight individuals are below the age of 25.
The deportations come amid increasing US immigration enforcement measures, primarily targeting individuals who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas. They are in line with President Donald Trump’s position against an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
Some deportees said that they were picked up “at the US-Mexico border about 10 days ago”. Some said they travelled to the US from the UK. After landing in Amritsar, deportees from Punjab and Haryana were sent home by road.
8 minors among 33 Gujaratis
The American dream came crashing down for 33 Gujaratis, including eight minors, who were deported from the US and landed in India last week. Sources said these deportees are from Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Patan, Anand and Banaskantha districts. “They had entered the US illegally five to eight years ago. Many belong to the north Gujarat region,,” added a source.
India protests mistreatment
India has protested the US handling of Indian deportees, who arrived handcuffed and shackled in a military plane. Govt sources, who confirmed that there are 96 more verified Indian nationals who may be deported soon.“Yes, we have registered our concerns with the US (on mistreatment),” foreign secretary Vikram Misri said, responding to a query whether India had, like Brazil, officially protested the treatment meted out to its citizens.
Restraining deportees not new: Jaishankar
After outrage over treatment meted out to Indian deportees from the US, which echoed in Parliament as well, external affairs minister S Jaishankar strongly defended it saying there had been no change in the past US procedure for the flight. The minister’s statement followed visuals released by US authorities, and comments by some of the returnees, that confirmed they were kept handcuffed and shackled during the flight. With more such flights not ruled out, Jaishankar said India was engaging the US govt to ensure that the returning deportees were not mistreated in any manner during the flight. He also promised action against agents facilitating illegal migration.
