US plane with 104 deported Indians lands in Amritsar; most from 3 states

Heavy barricading outside airport

Earlier, reports claimed that US military plane C-17 was bringing back 205 illegal immigrants.

The US Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster aircraft took off from an airbase near Texas on Tuesday and landed at 1.55 pm Wednesday. There was heavy barricading outside the airport and police personnel were deployed in large numbers.

Also read: Illegal migration not worth the risk: US embassy after deportation of 205 Indians

This is the first batch of illegal Indian immigrants to have been deported by the Donald Trump government.

According to the sources, the deportees are expected to be allowed to go home following verification and background checks. Police will focus on identifying any deportee with a criminal record, the sources said.

Illegal after work permits expire

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday that the state government would receive the immigrants and set up counters at the airport.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the US government’s decision and said these individuals, who contributed to that country’s economy, should have been granted permanent residency instead of being deported.

He said many Indians entered the US on work permits which later expired, making them illegal immigrants.

Dhaliwal plans to meet Jaishankar

The minister said he plans to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar next week to discuss the concerns and interests of Punjabis living in the US.

Also read: 'Modi will do what’s right': Trump on return of illegal Indian immigrants

Dhaliwal had also appealed to Punjabis not to travel abroad through illegal means, emphasising the importance of acquiring skills and education to access opportunities worldwide.

He encouraged people to research legal ways and acquire education and language skills before travelling abroad.

Plight of families

After Donald Trump assumed office as the US President last month, the country’s law enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants.

In Gandhinagar, Gujarat, an elderly woman whose son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild left for the US illegally, was seen weeping in a video posted by news agency ANI.

“... I have not been told anything. I have no one except for my son, daughter-in-law and my grandchild... They never spoke to me on the phone... People are saying they will return but I don’t know anything,” she wept.

Deportation amid Modi visit news

The US action comes in the midst of India and the US finalising various elements of a likely visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington from February 12 to 13.

Without directly commenting on the deportation flight carrying the Indians, a spokesperson at the US embassy in New Delhi said on Tuesday that Washington is tightening immigration laws and removing illegal migrants.

Many people from Punjab and other states, who entered the US through “dunki routes” or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.

Congress ‘sad’ over treatment of Indians

The Congress on Wednesday expressed sadness over “pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated” while being deported from the US and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to India diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then UPA government retaliated sharply.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also pointed out that the media kerfuffle over the deportation of 150 plus illegal Indian migrants from the United States obscures a few facts. Hundreds of Indians are deported every year. As many as 1,100 Indians were deported in the previous fiscal year, by the Joe Biden administration.

(With agency inputs)