NEW DELHI: A planeload of 119 illegal Indian immigrants from the US landed in Amritsar on Saturday making it the second deportation flight this year. This is one of the two flights of deportees expected to land in the country this weekend, news agency PTI reported, quoting official sources.
It comes a day after PM Modi and US President Donald Trump vowed to address the issue during their bilateral talks. PM Modi had categorically mentioned the need to end the ecosystem that exploited people and “fooled (them) with big dreams” to travel to the US illegally.
However, there was no discussion on the treatment meted out to the deportees, who were shackled and handcuffed on the US military aircraft, drawing criticism from the opposition leaders.
Last week, a US military plane with 104 deportees landed in Amritsar drawing flak from the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann. The CM slammed the central government and called it an effort to “defame Punjab and Punjabis” by turning the city into “a deportation centre”.
“This is a deliberate attempt to send out the message that only Punjabis travel illegally,” Mann said, adding that the Centre should “divert the aircraft to Delhi or Ahmedabad. Punjab govt will bring back Punjabis with honour. But we maintain that illegal immigration is not just Punjab’s problem, but a national one.”
India is the largest source of illegal immigration to the US outside Latin America, with over 7,25,000 undocumented individuals, according to US officials.
Amid rising MAGA-driven opposition to immigration, which affects over a million Indian professionals and students on legitimate H-1B, L, and F1 visas, Indian officials have pushed back, emphasizing their economic contributions and the role of people-to-people ties in strengthening US-India relations.