Third Batch of Illegal Indian Immigrants Deported from the US Lands in Amritsar
Amritsar, 16th February 2025: A third batch of 112 Indians living illegally in the United States landed at Amritsar Airport at 10 PM on Sunday, deported on a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster aircraft. The group includes 44 individuals from Haryana and 33 from Punjab, with immigration officials questioning them at the airport.
The deported individuals are undergoing verification, which is expected to take 3-4 hours before they are released. Haryana police have arranged Volvo buses to transport their citizens home, while the Punjab government has also arranged buses for the return of its residents.
Second Batch Deported on Saturday Night
This deportation follows a second batch of 116 Indians who arrived at Amritsar Airport on Saturday at 11:30 PM. Reports indicate that all adult male deportees, except women and children, were restrained with handcuffs and shackles during their flight back. They were allowed to meet their families at the airport before being transported home in police vehicles after a five-hour verification process.
Previously, on February 5, a first batch of 104 Indians was forcibly deported under similar conditions. In total, 332 illegal Indian immigrants have been sent back from the US so far.
Deportee Confirms Shackles, Cousins Detained in Murder Case
Among the latest deportees, Daljit Singh from Hoshiarpur confirmed that they were restrained during their deportation, saying, “Our hands were tied, and chains were put on our feet.” Singh revealed that he had entered the US illegally via the “donkey route”, a term used for unauthorized travel through multiple countries.
Meanwhile, Sandeep and Pradeep, two deportees from Patiala, have been detained by local police for questioning in connection with a murder case registered in June 2023.
Deported Individuals Mostly Youth from Northern India
The second batch of deportees included:
- 65 from Punjab
- 33 from Haryana
- 8 from Gujarat
- 2 each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan
- 1 each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir
Most of the deportees belong to the 18-30 age group, many of whom had sought illegal entry into the US in search of better opportunities.
Political Controversy Over Deportations
Following the first batch’s deportation, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann questioned why the US chose to land these flights in Amritsar instead of Ahmedabad or Ambala, when the previous group had a large number of individuals from Haryana and Gujarat. However, in this latest batch, Punjabis formed the largest group among the deportees.
During a press conference at Amritsar Airport, CM Bhagwant Mann assured that the Punjab government had made all necessary arrangements for the deportees’ stay, food, and transportation to their respective locations.
He also criticized the Central Government for allowing Amritsar to be repeatedly used for such deportation flights, stating,
“Amritsar is a holy city, not a detention center. There are other airports and airbases; why aren’t these flights landing there?”
Meanwhile, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu dismissed reports of shackles and handcuffs, claiming that “the viral videos are scenes from a film.”
First-Time Deportation via US Military Aircraft
For the first time in history, the US has used a military aircraft to deport Indian immigrants, with the first deportation flight taking off from San Antonio, Texas, on February 4. Reports suggest that the US has identified 205 more Indians for deportation under its ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.
