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A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian deportees arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday, marking the first batch expelled under the Trump administration’s recent immigration crackdown.
A US military aircraft carrying illegal Indian immigrants upon its landing at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport, in Amritsar. (IMAGE: PTI)
One individual among the 104 Indian deportees repatriated from the US on Thursday was on Interpol’s wanted list and another deportee was found to have a criminal background, sources speaking to News18 said.
Legal proceedings are currently underway to address the case and law enforcement agencies are taking the necessary legal measures to handle both cases appropriately.
They said that a case has been lodged against the individual on Interpol’s wanted list in Italy.
Sources stated that immigrants with criminal records will be placed in a detention centre for further action. “Case-by-case verification with the concerned state is ongoing,” they added.
A joint examination is being conducted by Punjab Police and the Intelligence Bureau. Deportees without criminal records are being released immediately.
A controversy erupted over the mode of deportee transfer as illegal Indian immigrants. The first batch of illegal Indian immigrants from US arrived at Amritsar’s Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport on Wednesday afternoon chained and handcuffed.
An official said that the immigrants were handcuffed to ensure everyone’s safety on the flight and avoid any kind of scuffle and altercation between the US officials and deportees.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said that the process of deportation is not a new one and there has been no change from past procedures.
“The deportations by the US are organised and executed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) authorities. The SOP of deportation by aircraft used by ICE which is effective from 2012 provides for the use of restraint. We have been informed by ICE that women and children are not restrained,” the minister said.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian nationals, deported for illegal immigration, arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday. This marks the first large-scale deportation under the Trump administration’s recent crackdown, initiated after taking office last month.
According to sources, the deportees include 33 individuals each from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra, three from Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
Among them were 19 women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two young girls aged five and seven.
The US Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster touched down at Amritsar airport at 1:55 pm, carrying the deportees back to India.
After Trump assumed office as the US president last month, the country’s law-enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants. Many Indians, who entered the US through the “donkey route” or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.
