A US C-17 military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented aliens in US.
This is the first time that Indian illegal immigrants have been deported from the US as part of the massive crackdown that Trump launched on his first day in office on January 20.
The C-17 US military aircraft, which took off from San Antonio, Texas, landed at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at 1.55 pm. Police and civil administration officials were present to receive the 104 individuals comprising 79 men and 25 women. A representative from the US Embassy was also at the airport. Of the 104 illegal immigrants, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat; 30 from Punjab; three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh; and two from Chandigarh. According to sources, most of the deported individuals were caught at the US-Mexico border.
Upon arrival, the deportees will undergo verification of documents. However, no directions have been issued to detain these migrants. All necessary checks will be conducted before they are allowed to leave the airport.
The deportees are not offenders in India, as they might have used the legal route to leave the country, but tried entering the US via the illegal “donkey” route, they said. There is also no ground for arrest as they have not violated Indian laws. The sources added that if their passports were not available, they could be identified using biometrics. Police will focus on identifying any deportee with a criminal record, the sources said.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday that the state government would receive the immigrants and set up counters at the airport.
Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said he would meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar next week to discuss to issue as he was disappointed over the US government’s decision to deport the immigrants.
Dhaliwal said these individuals, who contributed to the country’s economy, should have been granted permanent residency instead of being deported. He also claimed that many Indians entered the US on work permits, but due to their expiration, they became illegal immigrants.
Dhaliwal had also appealed to Punjabis not to travel abroad through illegal means, emphasising the importance of acquiring skills and education to access opportunities worldwide. He encouraged people to research legal ways and acquire education and language skills before travelling abroad.
After Donald Trump assumed office as the US President last month, the country’s law enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
Many people from Punjab, who entered the US through “donkey routes” or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.
Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation in American history, and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has compiled an initial list of nearly 18,000 undocumented Indian nationals, among 1.5 million individuals marked for deportation.
Approximately 725,000 illegal immigrants from India live in the US, making it the third-largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador, according to data from the Pew Research Centre.
The Pentagon has also started providing flights to deport more than 5,000 immigrants held by US authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. So far, military aircraft have flown migrants to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
India has emerged as the farthest of the destinations to send military aircraft to deport people by the Trump administration.
The US action comes amid India and the US finalising various elements of a likely visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to to Washington from February 12 to 13.
The US embassy spokesperson declined to provide details of the deportation flight and said that 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,” the official said.
Days after Trump came to power for a second term, India indicated its willingness to work with Washington to address issues relating to illegal immigration.
“India is opposed to illegal immigration because of its links to several forms of organised crime,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last month, adding New Delhi will take back all Indians who have either overstayed in the US or are there without documentation.
“We will take them back provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality, that they are indeed Indians,” he had said. At the same time, Jaiswal said it would be “premature” to talk about the number of illegal Indian immigrants staying in the US.
Following his phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi on January 27, Trump said India “will do what is right” on the deportation of illegal migrants from the US. According to estimates, around 18,000 illegal immigrants from India have been identified by American authorities for deportation.
Meanwhile, PTI reported from Jalandhar the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) on Wednesday urged the Punjab government to establish a rehabilitation fund to support young boys and girls being deported from the United States.
In a statement, NAPA Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal said lack of support and resources for these returnees could lead to severe social and economic challenges for the state.
He warned the Punjab government that negligence in addressing this growing crisis would only create more problems for the state, exacerbating unemployment, mental health issues and potential involvement in illegal activities.
“Many of these young individuals leave their homes with dreams of a better future but find themselves deported due to immigration challenges. They return with shattered hopes, financial distress, and psychological trauma. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure their proper rehabilitation and reintegration into society,” Chahal said.
He urged the state government to allocate funds for skill development programmes, employment opportunities and mental health counselling to help these individuals rebuild their lives.
He also urged policymakers to engage with organisations like NAPA to create comprehensive strategies to address the issue effectively.
“This is not just an individual problem but a societal one,” Chahal said. “If we fail to act now, the consequences will be dire, not just for the youth but for Punjab’s social fabric and economy as a whole,” he said.