A plane carrying 119 Indians arrived from the United States at Punjab’s Amritsar airport on Saturday, the second such arrival in a span of 10 days, as part of the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown and decision to deport illegal immigrants.
The first round of deportation had taken place on February 5, when a US military plane transported 104 Indians to Amritsar. A third plane with 157 deportees is expected to land in India on Sunday.
The second plane – a C-17 military aircraft – landed at the Amritsar International Airport close to 11:40 pm on Saturday.
Of the total deportees, 67 are from Punjab, 33 are from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Earlier, those deported were from Haryana (33), Gujarat (33), Punjab (30), Maharashtra (3) Uttar Pradesh (3), and Chandigarh (2). They were sent back on a US military aircraft – C-17 plane – that took off from San Antonio, Texas.
The deportees were shackled and restrained throughout the flight, only to be freed upon arrival in India – a move that triggered a political storm in India, and led to an uproar in both Houses of Parliament during the then ongoing Budget session.
Amid criticisms, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Centre is engaging with the US to ensure the deportees are not mistreated.
Mr Jaishankar also said the US’ deportation of illegal migrants is not a new development and has been going on for years.
In its defence, the US Embassy in India said “enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States”. “It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,” an embassy spokesperson said.
NDTV News-India-news