New Delhi:
A plane with 112 Indians, deported from the United States for illegal living in the country, landed on Sunday evening in Amritsar, the third such arrival in a period of 10 days as part of the performance of the Donald Trump government against such immigrants.
According to sources, the flight C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force landed at the International Airport of Amritsar around 10.03 am.
Of the total deportees, 31 are from Punjab, 44 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, two from Uttar Pradesh and one each of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The families of some of them reached the airport to receive them.
The deportees may go to their homes after completion of all formalities, including immigration, verification and background checks. Arrangements have been made for the transport of deportees to their destination, according to the sources.
The first round of deportation took place on 5 February, when an American military aircraft transported 104 Indians to Amritsar. A second plane with 116 Indians landed on Saturday.
During the first round of deportation, people were chained and held during the flight, only to be released on arrival in India – a movement that caused a political storm in India, and led to a commotion in both houses of parliament during the then then Continuous houses budget session. Similar accusations of abuse were also done by those who returned on Saturday.
In the midst of criticism, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said earlier that the center is busy with the US to ensure that the deportees have not been abused. He also said that the deportation of the US of illegal migrants is not a new development and has been going on for years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in the US earlier this week, said that India will take back one of the citizens who live in the US illegally. However, he emphasized that efforts must be made to put an end to human trafficking.
“Our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem, and we are convinced that President Trump will fully collaborate with India in completing this ecosystem,” he said.
In her defense, the American embassy in India said “maintaining the immigration laws of our nation is crucial for the national security and public safety of the United States”. “It is the policy of the United States to faithfully implement immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable alien beings,” said a spokesperson for the embassy.
India is the third source of immigrants without papers in the US after Mexico and El Salvador.
Most deportees from Punjab said earlier that they wanted to migrate to the US for a better life for their families. However, their dreams were crushed when they were caught at the American border and sent back in buoys.
