Third US flight brings 112 Indian deportees back to Amritsar
Updated: Feb 17th, 2025
Amid Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, 112 Indians deported from the US arrived in Amritsar as part of the ongoing immigration enforcement, marking the third flight in the last 10 days. Families gathered at the airport to receive their loved ones.
Among the deportees, 31 are from Punjab, 44 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 2 from Uttar Pradesh, and 1 each from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The deportees will undergo thorough security checks and complete all formalities before being released to return to their homes.
For the second deportation flight, which arrived on Saturday night, sources revealed that women and children onboard were not restrained during the flight. This clarification comes after a controversy regarding the alleged “ill-treatment” of deportees on the first batch of flights from the US.
The C-17 aircraft carrying over 116 illegal Indian immigrants, including women and children, landed in Amritsar late on Saturday night. However, male deportees claimed that they were shackled during the journey.
Sources confirmed that on this latest flight, women and children were not restrained, aiming to address concerns over the treatment of deportees.
Earlier, a US military plane carrying 104 deportees landed in Amritsar on February 5.
Sources have also indicated that deportations will continue on a bi-weekly basis, with similar flights bringing back Indian nationals in the coming weeks, until all undocumented immigrants are returned to their home country.
The Government of India continues diplomatic efforts to manage the repatriation of deported nationals. While the process has caused distress for many families, officials emphasize that the deportations are part of a broader effort to address illegal immigration. Those who wish to return home will be facilitated by Indian authorities.
As part of the ongoing crackdown, both the US and India are working together to uphold immigration laws.
During a recent meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump stressed the need to combat networks that lure individuals into illegal immigration with false promises of a better future abroad.
“Anyone who enters and resides in another country illegally has absolutely no legal right to stay there,” PM Modi stated at a joint press conference with Trump at the White House.
Opposing the move to land the next deportation flight in Amritsar, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann described it as a “conspiracy by the Union government to defame Punjab and Punjabis.”
Speaking to the media, CM Mann argued that despite Punjab’s status as India’s agricultural and defense stronghold, the decision to land these deportation flights in Amritsar is “an attempt by the central government to tarnish Punjab’s global image.”
He questioned why the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) specifically chose Amritsar for these flights when there are hundreds of other airports across India.
(With inputs from syndicated feed)
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