Watch | US releases video of ‘illegal’ Indian migrants boarding military aircraft for deportation

The Chief of the US Border Patrol, Michael W. Banks, shared a video of “illegal” Indian migrants being deported to the country. In the tweet, Banks said that this was the farthest deportation flight the US military aircraft has embarked on after US President Donald Trump took over the White House.

On Wednesday, the US military plane carrying 104 deported Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar. This was the first time such a flight landed in India as Trump continued to push his crackdown against undocumented immigrants. The move also came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington which is scheduled to take place next week.

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. pic.twitter.com/WW4OWYzWOf

— Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) February 5, 2025

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“USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport,” Banks wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals. If you cross illegally, you will be removed,” he added.

‘Chained and handcuffed’ how things were different in the Trump era

Throughout the process, India cooperated with the United States and maintained that they would accept the deported Indians after verification. New Delhi has always stated that it is against illegal immigration, mainly because it is linked to several forms of organized crime.

“For Indians, not just in the United States but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals, and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality that they are indeed Indians,” India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said last month. “If that happens to be the case, then we will take things forward. We will facilitate the return to India,” he added.

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Things were a bit different this time. Earlier India’s junior External Affairs Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Indian parliament that at least 519 Indian nationals were deported to India between November 2023 and October 2024. However, the US government usually sends them through commercial and chartered flights.

Hence, the use of US military aircraft to return people to their home countries has garnered major backlash. Jaspal Singh, a 36-year-old from Punjab’s Gurdaspur told PTI that the immigrants were handcuffed and their legs were chained inside the flight.

“We had no idea we were being deported,” he said. “We thought we were being moved to another detention centre. Then they told us we were going back to India. We were handcuffed, and our legs were chained until we landed in Amritsar,” he furthered. Several Opposition leaders in India also raised concerns about the way the migrants were brought into the country.

Amid the growing criticism, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be addressing the Rajya Sabha on Thursday over the “inhumane treatment” of Indian immigrants deported by the US. Before his address Opposition MP in Lok Sabha raised slogans and staged a protest in the Well of the House, despite Speaker Om Birla urging them to refrain from “planned disruptions.”

“Your matter is with the government. This is a matter of the Ministry of External Affairs. This subject is related to another country. The government has taken cognisance of it,” Om Birla said at the time. The whole chaos prompted the speaker to adjourn the House till 2 pm.