The Opposition party leaders have expressed regret over the mistreatment of Indian nationals in the foreign land and assured to take up the issue in Parliament while also demanding a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
A US military plane landed in Amritsar carrying illegal Indian immigrants who were allegedly handcuffed and shackled throughout their journey according to one of the deportees. This deportation was first of such batch of Indians who have been deported following US President Donald Trump-led government's crackdown against illegal immigrants.
Jaspal Singh, 36, who was among 104 deportees brought in a US aircraft on Wednesday told PTI that their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing at the Amritsar airport.
The C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force landed at the Amritsar airport at 1:55 pm. The US action came just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington to hold wide-ranging talks with President Donald Trump.
The Opposition party leaders have expressed regret over the mistreatment of Indian nationals in the foreign land and assured to take up the issue in Parliament while also demanding a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Of them, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said.
Nineteen women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two girls, aged five and seven, were among the deportees, they said.
The deportees were questioned inside the airport terminal building by different government agencies, including the Punjab Police, and various state and central intelligence agencies to check if they have any criminal record.
Deportees from Punjab were taken to their native places in police vehicles from the Amritsar airport.
Jaspal Singh, 36, who hails from Hardorwal village in Gurdaspur district, told PTI that he was captured by the US Border Patrol on January 24.
After reaching his home town Wednesday night, Jaspal said he was defrauded by a travel agent as he was promised that he would be sent to the US in a legal way.
"I had asked the agent to send me through a proper visa. But he deceived me," said Jaspal. He said that the deal was done at Rs 30 lakh.
Jaspal claimed that he reached Brazil by air in July last year. He said he was promised that the next leg of journey, to the US, would be by air too. However, he was "cheated" by his agent, who forced him to cross the border illegally.
After staying for six months in Brazil, he crossed the border to the US, but was arrested by the US Border Patrol.
He was kept there in custody for 11 days and then sent back home.
Jaspal said he didn't know he was being deported to India.
"We thought we were being taken to another camp. Then a police officer told us that they were being taken to India.
"We were handcuffed and our legs were chained. These were opened at the Amritsar airport," he claimed.
Jaspal said he was shattered with deportation. "A huge sum was spent. The money was borrowed."
Earlier, Jaspal's cousin Jasbir Singh said, "We came to know about his deportation through the media on Wednesday morning".
About the deportations, he said, "These are issues of governments. When we go abroad for work, we have big dreams for a better future for our families. Those have now been shattered."
Two more deportees, who reached their home towns in Hoshiarpur on Wednesday night, also shared their ordeal they went through to reach the US.
Harwinder Singh, who hails from Tahli village in Hoshiarpur, said he left for the US in August last year.
He was taken to Qatar, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, and then Mexico.
From Mexico, he along with others were taken to the US, he told PTI.
"We crossed hills. A boat, which was taking him along with other persons, was about to capsize in the sea but we survived," he told reporters.
He said he saw one person dying in the Panama jungle and one drowning in the sea.
Singh said his travel agent had promised him that he would first be taken to Europe and then to Mexico. He said that he spent Rs 42 lakh for his trip to the US.
"Sometimes we got rice. Sometimes, we did not get anything to eat. We used to get biscuits," he said.
Another deportee from Punjab spoke about the 'donkey route' used to take them to the US.
"Our clothes worth Rs 30,000-35,000 were stolen on the way," he said.
The deportee said they were first taken to Italy and then to Latin America.
He said they took a 15-hour-long boat ride and were made to walk 40-45 kms.
"We crossed 17-18 hills. If one slipped, then there would be no chance that he would survive... We have seen a lot. If anybody got injured, he was left to die. We saw dead bodies," he said.
A plane carrying 33 persons from Gujarat, who were among 104 Indians deported from the US for illegal immigration, landed at Ahmedabad airport from Amritsar on Thursday morning.
Soon after their arrival, the 33 immigrants, including some children and women, were transported to their native places in Gujarat in police vehicles, Assistant Commissioner of Police, 'G' division, R D Oza said.
Hours after the US military aircraft landed at the airport, Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention, requesting him to speak to his "friend" Trump regarding the deportation of Indians.
Dhaliwal also spoke to some of the deportees hailing from Punjab at the airport.
Addressing the media, the minister said a total of 104 Indians have been deported from the US and of them, 30 are from Punjab. "It was a long flight. All are healthy and fine, they had their meal," he said.
"The paperwork of the deportees hailing from Punjab was done first. Thereafter, the immigration process of those from Haryana, Gujarat and other states will be carried out," the minister added.
Describing the deportation of Indians from the US as a "very serious" issue, Dhaliwal said, "We all know that Prime Minister Modi used to say that 'Trump is my friend'. He even campaigned for Trump during the 2019 US election. These are international issues and can be discussed and resolved at that level."
"I request Prime Minister Modi that the sword of deportation and jail is hanging on the heads of many Indians and he should hold their hands. He should sit with Trump and find a solution to this issue," he said.
Senior Punjab BJP leader Harjit Singh Grewal asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make arrangements for the resettlement and employment of those from the state who have been deported by the US government.
He also demanded strict action against the travel agents who sent these people to the US through the "donkey route" and other illegal means by taking lakhs of rupees from them.
The Congress expressed sadness over "pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated" while being deported from the US and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then UPA government retaliated sharply.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday that the media kerfuffle over the deportation of illegal Indian migrants from the US obscures a few facts.
"This is not the first such planeload, nor is it directly related to the ascent of @realDonaldTrump. There were 1,100 Indians deported in the previous fiscal year (ending September 2024), under Biden, not Trump. As of 2022, there were 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the US -- the third-largest group, outnumbered only by nationals of Mexico and El Salvador," the former diplomat said in a post on X.
"Since October 2020, US Customs and Border Protection officials have detained nearly 170,000 Indian migrants attempting to cross the border illegally from either Canada or Mexico. They are all subject to deportation," Tharoor added.
Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday expressed anguish over handcuffing of illegal Indian immigrants, who were deported by the US government, calling it "absolutely inhuman".
Senior Congress leader and Chandigarh MP Tewari said, "This is absolutely inhuman to handcuff and shackle people, not allow them to even use the toilet for 40 hours while deporting them is medieval."
"What is there crime? They went looking for a better life. They did it illegally but that does not make them criminals that they need to be bound hand and foot and treated worse than animals."
Questioning the Centre over the issue, Tewari said, "What is the point of all those summits with @realDonaldTrump if @PMOIndia & @DrSJaishankar cannot ensure that our country men are not treated in the most humiliating and degrading manner."
Congress MP Manickam Tagore told PTI, "It is very shameful and painful to see how Indians are being treated, when the prime minister boasts that he is 56-inch chest man. Indians are being chained and humiliated when they are deported here. We have pictures from those in flights. It is very sad that the Indian government is keeping mum and this kind of behaviour against Indians won't be tolerated. We will raise the issue in Parliament also. We want External Affairs Minister to make a statement."
After Trump assumed office as the US president last month, the country's law-enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants. Many Indians, who entered the US through the "donkey route" or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.
(With PTI inputs)