104 deported Indians on board US military aircraft land in Amritsar
Government agencies are also expected to question the individuals on the agents that lured or duped them into travelling to the United States illegally.
New Delhi: A US C-17 Boeing Globemaster military transport aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon. According to media reports, of the deportees, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said.
While some media reports indicated that there may be more, however, this number is below the original number of 205 that was projected by media reports from the US. Arrangements are reportedly being made by the government agencies to recheck the documentation of these individuals and also arrange for a medical examination before they are sent back to their respective states.
Government agencies are also expected to question the individuals on the agents that lured or duped them into travelling to the United States illegally.
All this comes just a few days ahead of the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States where he will hold talks with United States President Donald Trump.
Media reports cited sources to claim that India had verified the nationality of all persons who are being deported. This follows similar deportations by the US to countries in Latin and South America. But as per reports, this is perhaps the first time that the US has deployed its military aircraft for such a deportation exercise to India when it had earlier utilised chartered or commercial aircraft.
New Delhi has so far not commented on the reports. However, a US Embassy spokesperson, while not confirming the reported deportation, had earlier on Tuesday said, “I can’t share any details ... but I can share, on the record, the United States is vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants. These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk”.
As reported earlier, a list drawn up by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sometime last year has reportedly estimated that 14.5 lakh illegal immigrants are slated for deportation from the US, among which 18,000 are allegedly Indians.
President Trump had already signalled that the US will get much tougher now on illegal immigration. It may be noted that even under the previous Biden ddministration, US authorities had said that the US deported more than 1,100 Indian nationals over the past one year through Charter removal flights and also through commercial flights.
On American concerns over illegal Indian immigrants in the US, Trump had said that India will do “what is right”. Last month, external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had held a bilateral meeting his new American counterpart Marco Rubio. After the meeting, the US had said, “Secretary Rubio also emphasised the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration.”
The EAM had later said that India had always been open to a legitimate return of illegal Indian immigrants but had cautioned that New Delhi would need to “validate and verify” the Indian identity of each and every one of these persons before they return.