Broken Dreams: Indians Deported Back from the U.S.
On February 5, 2025, a U.S. military aircraft repatriated 104 Indian nationals to India, reflecting evolving immigration dynamics between the two nations. The individuals, primarily from Punjab, Gujarat, and Haryana, had entered the United States without proper documentation and were returned as part of the U.S. government’s reinforced immigration policies.
This event stands out as the first instance of a military aircraft being used for deportations to India, signaling a decisive approach to addressing unauthorized immigration. Upon arrival in Amritsar, Punjab, the returnees underwent standard verification procedures before being processed for reintegration.
Daler Singh, one of the deported migrants, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying: “Our hands and legs were cuffed throughout… They did not unlock our cuffs even when we ate.”
29-year-old Laliya is one of the 104 Indians deported from the US on charges of illegal immigration. Recalling his journey, Mr Laliya said, “I started my journey from New Delhi on December 5, 2024. I had a connecting flight from Abu Dhabi the next day but was not allowed to board, after which I returned to Delhi and stayed there for eight days. Then I was made to board a flight to Cairo in Egypt, from where I was supposed to go to Montreal in Canada via Spain.” After staying in Spain for four days, Mr Laliya was sent to Guatemala, then to Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and eventually to the US border, he said.
Mr Laliya was “caught and held by the mafia in Mexico for 10 days”. He also did a four-hour mountain trek and a 16-hour walk to the US border.
Mr Laliya said he and 103 others were taken to a “welcome centre” where they were handcuffed and legs chained, before being put on a US aircraft.
The deportee blames his agent for the ordeal. “I spent Rs 49.5 lakh in all. This money was taken from banks as loans and from friends and family. I had gone on a Canadian visa and wanted to go to work in that country. However, due to my agent’s mistake, I suffered this,” he claimed.
Congress party shared a video social media of a man identified as deportee Harvinder Singh, who said: “For 40 hours, we were handcuffed, our feet tied with chains and we were not allowed to move an inch from our seats. It was worse than hell.”
“Listen to this man’s pain,” Rahul Gandhi urged India’s Prime Minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his post. “Indians deserve Dignity and Humanity, NOT Handcuffs.”
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday (February 6, 2025) informed the Parliament that the deportation of illegal migrants was not a new development, and the use of restraints on the deportees was a “standard operating procedure”. Mr Jaishankar also asserted that it was in the collective interest of the House to discourage illegal movement, and the government’s focus would be to “crackdown on the illegal migration industry”.
The Centre today announced that they have been told by US authorities that there are 487 presumed Indian citizens with “final removal orders”. This announcement comes in the backdrop of a political row over 104 Indian migrants who were sent back to India, on a C-17 US military aircraft on Wednesday.
