A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian nationals, who were illegally residing in the United States, landed at Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on Wednesday. The development comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump's extensive crackdown on illegal immigration. US Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks posted a video on X confirming the development.
The video shows individuals, with their hands cuffed and legs bound, boarding the military aircraft. Once aboard, US military officials can also be seen mounting the aircraft.
“USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals. If you cross illegally, you will be removed,” Banks posted on X.
The opposition parties in India have raised a significant uproar over the treatment of individuals deported from the US. Opposition MPs staged protests outside Parliament, leading to the suspension of proceedings in both houses due to the widespread outrage.
Congress MP Manish Tewari expressed his concerns over the incident, stating that the treatment given to the deported people was "absolutely inhumane and medieval."
"Absolutely anguished at the inhumane treatment which has been meted out to the Indians who have been deported from the United States of America and brought to Amritsar. They are not criminals, they may have illegally entered the US in search of a better life," Tewari said.
"I have failed to understand how can the government at the level of the PM and the Foreign Minister countenance such inhumane treatment of Indian citizens," he added.
Shashi Tharoor also expressed anguish over the incident saying the treatment was unacceptable, adding that PM should raise the issue with the US on his visit.
"We are protesting precisely this issue, that the manner in which the US did what they did was really unacceptable. We believe they have a legal right to deport people who are illegally in their country. And if they are proven to be Indian nationals, we have a legal obligation to admit them, to accept them in our country. But the manner in which it was done, in handcuffs, squeezed into a military aircraft, in such an abrupt manner, is not acceptable. Under the Biden administration last year, 1100 Indians were deported. There was no incident, no such humiliation, no problem. They came back, and we were quietly able to reabsorb them back in their own country... He (PM Modi) is going to be in the US next week. We certainly hope that he strongly conveys to the Americans that while they can send people back, they have every legal right, but they cannot do it in this way," Tharoor said.
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Meanwhile, EAM S Jaishankar called on PM Modi to discuss the issue and is likely to speak on the issue in Rajya Sabha.