 "A Brazilian immigrant, deported from the US, is welcomed by a relative at the Confins airport in Brazil. Reuters")
Dozens of deported immigrants arrived in Brazil from the United States by plane.
However, they were in handcuffs, with their hands and feet tied.
ALSO READ | How Donald Trump is shaking up America
On landing, some passengers alleged they had faced mistreatment during the journey.
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to demand clarification from the US government regarding the incident.
This incident has sparked controversy amid Latin America’s ongoing struggle with US President Donald Trump’s strict anti-immigration policies.
Here’s all that happened:
‘Immigrants are treated as criminals’
The plane, carrying 88 Brazilian passengers, 16 US security agents, and eight crew members, was initially scheduled to land in Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais, a southeastern state. However, due to technical problems, it made an unplanned stop in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, according to Brazil’s Justice Ministry.
Upon its arrival in Manaus, a city in the north, Brazilian authorities instructed US officials to “immediately remove the handcuffs,” the justice ministry stated.
Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski informed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of “the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens.”
Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician, was among the passengers on the flight after spending seven months in detention in the United States.
ALSO READ | Will the Laken Riley Act reshape immigration in the US and lead to visa bans for India?
“On the plane, they didn’t give us water. We were tied hands and feet, and they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom,” he told AFP.
“It was very hot, and some people fainted.”
Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos, a 21-year-old freelancer, described the “nightmare” experienced by those with “respiratory problems” during “four hours without air conditioning” caused by the technical issues.
“Things have already changed (with Trump); immigrants are treated as criminals,” he said.
Brazil slams US, condemns handcuffing of deportees
The use of handcuffs and other restraints on deportation flights from the US to Brazil has sparked criticism in the South American country.
Conservative ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump, also called for the practice to be stopped.
On Saturday, Brazil’s government expressed outrage, labelling the incident a “flagrant disregard” for the deportees’ rights.
The foreign ministry announced plans to seek clarification from Washington over the “degrading treatment of passengers on the flight,” AFP reported.
Brazil will request “explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers,” the ministry said in a statement on X.
ALSO READ | Donald Trump signs executive order to end birthright citizenship. How will it affect Indians?
A government source told AFP that the deportation flight was not linked to any immigration orders issued by Trump since taking office on Monday. Instead, it was a result of a 2017 bilateral agreement.
Brazil’s Minister of Human Rights, Macae Evaristo, revealed that “children with autism … who went through very serious experiences” were also on board.
Footage aired on Brazilian television showed some passengers leaving the civilian aircraft, restrained with handcuffs and ankle shackles.
“Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft be mobilised to transport the Brazilians to their final destination, in order to ensure that they could complete their journey with dignity and safety,” the justice ministry said.
Trump, during his campaign, vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and began his second term with several executive orders aimed at tightening entry to the United States.
While deportation flights have continued to draw attention this week, such actions were also common under previous US presidents.
The Trump administration, however, has introduced military aircraft for repatriation flights, with one such plane landing in Guatemala earlier this week. AFP confirmed that the aircraft landing in Manaus was not military.
A Brazilian government source told the agency that the deportees carried “their documents,” indicating they had consented to return to Brazil.
The US Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are around 11 million undocumented migrants in the country. On Friday, 265 migrants were also expelled to Guatemala.
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown
The Trump administration has launched a sweeping crackdown on immigration, with the Republican president assuring to use mass deportations to remove undocumented migrants from the United States.
Trump has also terminated refugee resettlement and indicated plans to prosecute local law enforcement officials who refuse to enforce his immigration policies. The policy appeared as the new administration geared up to intensify efforts against illegal immigration in cities with notable migrant populations.
This sets the stage for potential conflicts with officials in cities like New York and Chicago, which limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
On his first day in office, Trump signed orders declaring a “national emergency” at the southern border and announced the deployment of additional troops to the area, while promising to deport “criminal aliens.”
The administration has implemented a broad asylum ban and introduced measures to restrict citizenship for children born in the United States. A US official told Reuters last week that 1,000 additional active-duty troops would be deployed to the Mexico-US border on Trump’s orders.
Trump has “laid out the largest domestic logistical undertaking of our lifetimes - that being the deportation of the vast majority of illegal aliens present in the United States,” Ken Cuccinelli, who led US Citizenship and Immigration Services during Trump’s first presidency, recently told a Senate panel.
With inputs from agencies