In a large-scale deportation effort, the United States sent back 104 Indian nationals who had entered the country illegally.
The deportees, including 19 women and 13 minors, arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday aboard a US military aircraft. Many claimed they were handcuffed and had their legs chained throughout the journey, only to be unshackled upon landing.
Jaspal Singh, a 36-year-old from Punjab’s Gurdaspur, recounted his ordeal, stating that he was detained for 11 days before being sent back. “We thought we were being moved to another detention camp, but then a police officer informed us we were being deported to India,” he told PTI. According to him, the shackles were removed only after they reached Amritsar airport.
Despite these claims, the Indian government dismissed reports of inhumane treatment, clarifying that widely circulated images of shackled migrants actually depicted Guatemalan nationals, not Indians.
Several deportees shared distressing stories of their journey to the US. Many had undertaken the treacherous ‘donkey route’ - a risky, illegal migration path through multiple countries. Harwinder Singh, another deportee from Punjab, described traveling through Qatar, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Panama, and Nicaragua before reaching Mexico.
"The journey was perilous. We had to cross hills, and at one point, our boat nearly capsized," he recalled. He also witnessed people losing their lives in the Panama jungle and drowning at sea.
Many deportees, including Jaspal Singh, said they were misled by fraudulent travel agents who had promised legal entry into the US in exchange for huge sums of money. Jaspal revealed that he paid Rs 30 lakh to an agent who deceived him. Another deportee lamented that his belongings, including clothes worth Rs 30,000–35,000, were stolen during the journey.
The deported individuals came from various states, including 33 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. Among them were young children, including a four-year-old boy and two girls aged five and seven.
This deportation move comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington for high-level discussions with President Donald Trump.
Reports indicate that US authorities have compiled a list of 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants who could face deportation in the near future.