A third US military aircraft landed in Amritsar on February 16 night carrying 112 undocumented Indians. This adds to the 117 undocumented Indians already deported on February 15. And to the 105 others who were first deported on February 5.
While details are still emerging, according to reports, a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster landed in Amritsar carrying 44 deportees originally from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, two from Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Reports also say that the deportees will be allowed to return to their homes after the completion of formalities. 19 of the deportees were women and 14 were minors including two infants, Business Today reported.
It is unclear at present if the deportees were shackled like the previous two times.
Earlier on February 15, deportees reportedly said that the men had been shackled aboard the flight, while women and children were not. Further, according to reports, two Sikh youths have alleged that all Sikh male deportees were forced to remove their turbans before boarding the flight. The deportees have also alleged to multiple news channels that US Border Patrol (USPB) officials humiliated and mistreated them and did not give them a chance to even speak.
Two of the deportees are reportedly wanted in a murder case in Punjab’s Patiala district. The men—identified as Sandeep Singh alias Sunny and Pradeep Singh – were arrested at the Amritsar airport as soon as the flight landed.
Sixty five of this batch of undocumented Indians are reportedly from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat two each from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Goa. The rest are from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, reports added.
On February 6, 104 undocumented Indians were deported as a part of US president Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigration. While similar such deportations of Indians from the US have been happening since 2009, it’s only under the new Trump administration that the use of military aircraft appears to have become a regular part of protocol.
The first set of deportations drew widespread criticism from the public and Opposition leaders amid allegations of abuse and humiliation. At the time, deportees had said that they had been shackled for the entire 48-hour flight, including children, and denied food, water and bathroom access.
Many were also angered by a social media post from USPB Chief Michael W Banks. Banks had posted a short video to his social media, captioned: “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.”
The video showed deportees—shackled at the legs and handcuffed—being escorted onto the aircraft by heavily armed USBP and other uniformed personnel. The video was even given a background heroic Musical score.