A US military C-17 transport aircraft carried 104 illegal Indian immigrants from Texas’s San Antonio and landed at Amritsar’s Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport on Wednesday.
This was the first such batch of Indians deported as part of the massive crackdown US President Donald Trump has launched against illegal immigrants.
‘Handcuffed, shackled’: Deportees’ experience
Notably, many of the deportees claimed that they were handcuffed and shackled by their legs throughout their journey from the US, adding that they were only unshackled after landing in Amritsar.
One of the deportees said that being transported back to India in such a manner made her feel like she was a hardcore criminal. “Handcuffed and chained we were not allowed to move in the plane or interact with fellow deportees. The chains along the waist and feet were not removed even when the passengers asked to use the toilet. We were made to sit face-to-face and were not allowed to have any sort of conversation with anyone throughout the flight,” said Lovepreet.
The deportees, comprising 72 men, 19 women and 13 children, described systemic detention procedures, freezing holding facilities, and a final journey where they remained chained and under strict surveillance.
Several key opposition leaders hit out at the government for the way Indians were deported by the US, questioning the treatment they were given. Opposition MPs also held protests over the same outside the Parliament in Delhi.
Himachal’s Congress chief Pratibha Singh said that the manner in which the migrants have been “maltreated” was reprehensible, adding that the government of India should have taken a stand in this situation and offered to send its own planes the same way Columbia and Brazil did.
“It was an insult to the country. It is unfortunate that even now the government is not ready to say anything in this regard,” Singh added.
India’s stance on US deportees
Just a day after the deportees’ return, external affairs minister S Jaishankar made a statement in the Rajya Sabha, addressing concerns about the deportees being sent back in handcuffs and shackles. He said that the use of restrains has been part of the standard operating procedures of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities since 2012.
However, Jaishankar said that India is, “of course, engaging with the US government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any matter during the flight”.
The EAM also said that it is the obligation of all countries to take back nationals found illegally living abroad after an unambiguous verification of their nationality.
“This is not a policy applicable to any specific country nor indeed one only practiced by India. It is a general accepted principle in international relations,” he said.
He stressed that New Delhi’s focus should be on a “strong crackdown” on the illegal migration industry and steps to ease visas for legitimate travelers.
(with PTI inputs)
