US Border Patrol chief shares video of deportees in handcuffs and shackles

The chief of the US Border Patrol (USBP) Michael W Banks shared a video on X on Wednesday (February 5) that showed clearly illegal immigrants of Indian origin with their hands cuffed and legs shackled boarding a US military plane bound for India.

“USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals. If you cross illegally, you will be removed,” wrote Michael Banks in his post on X.

A US military C-17 transport plane carrying 104 Indian deportees landed in Amritsar on Wednesday. This is the first group of illegal immigrants being deported to India by the Trump administration at the beginning of his second term as president.

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The plane took off from an airport at San Antonio, Texas, and landed at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar. On board the plane were 33 persons from Gujarat, 33 from Haryana, 30 from Punjab, 3 each from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and 2 from Chandigarh.

Widespread outrage

The deportation of the Indians and the manner in which it was done has sparked widespread outrage in the country, especially among members of the Opposition, who have created a ruckus in Parliament during the Budget Session. Both houses of Parliament were adjourned as a result of noisy slogans being raised by Opposition MPs against the Indian government on the issue.

Immigration experts and human rights activists have condemned the fact that the illegal migrants were treated like criminals and said the process was “degrading and unnecessary”.

Also Read: Cuffing deportees 'great shame' for country: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann

A former Indian diplomat quoted by India Today said that the US has the right to enforce its immigration laws, but the manner in which the Indian deportees were treated raises serious human rights concerns.

“These are not criminals; they are economic migrants who took risks for a better future,” said the former diplomat.

US embassy statement

The US Embassy in India in a statement on Wednesday said that the cost of the deportation was borne by the US military.

Also Read: 'We were handcuffed, legs chained': Punjab man deported from US

“If you cross illegally, you will be removed. Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the US. It is the policy of the US to faithfully execute immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,” said the embassy in its statement.