Third deportation flight brings more Indian migrants back home

New Delhi, Feb 16: Amritsar is set to receive another plane carrying deported Indian nationals from the United States on Sunday just ahead of midnight, marking the third such arrival within weeks amid an ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

A third special flight carrying 112 deportees from the U.S., including 31 Punjabis, is scheduled to land at Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport late Sunday night. Official sources indicate to the media the flight is expected to arrive around 11:30 p.m.

Shackles and Controversy

According to PTI, Daljit Singh, one of the deportees who arrived in Amritsar on Saturday night, revealed that many among them were restrained during the journey. “Our legs were chained, and our hands were also cuffed,” Singh told reporters in Hoshiarpur.

Sources indicated that women were not handcuffed or chained this time. The shackling of deportees during the prolonged journey has drawn significant criticism in India. In response, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar assured that the government was actively engaging with U.S. officials to ensure deportees were treated with dignity. He emphasized that while immigration laws must be upheld, humane treatment should remain a priority.

Immigration officials, Punjab Police personnel, and representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Punjab Government were present at the airport, where a large number of anxious relatives also gathered to receive their loved ones on the second flight on Saturday night.

Two alleged criminal arrests Upon Arrival

The Tribune newspaper reported that two youths from Rajpura in Patiala district, who were among the 116 individuals deported by the U.S. in a C-17 aircraft that arrived on Saturday night, were arrested in connection with a 2023 murder case. Sandeep Singh and Pradeep Singh were wanted in the case, confirmed SSP Nanak Singh to the media.

On Saturday, a U.S. military aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster III, landed at Amritsar airport around midnight, returning 119 deportees. Of these, 100 were from Punjab and Haryana, with the remainder from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. A previous deportation flight on February 5 had transported 104 Indians back home.

This surge follows confirmation from the Indian government that U.S. authorities have identified 487 more Indian nationals for removal in the near future. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri acknowledged the development, suggesting the number could rise as further cases emerge.

The ‘Donkey Route’ and the pursuit of a better life

Many of those deported had attempted to enter the U.S. through perilous and illegal routes, commonly referred to as ‘donkey routes.’ These smuggling networks involve circuitous journeys through multiple countries, often including dangerous border crossings in Latin America. Migrants frequently pay substantial sums—sometimes exceeding Rs 30-40 lakh—to human traffickers in the hopes of reaching the U.S.

Economic hardship, high unemployment, and limited opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labourers in India, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, drive this migration. Agrarian distress, declining job prospects, and the promise of a better standard of living abroad push many young Indians to seek illegal pathways when legal avenues prove inaccessible or too slow. The potential for stable employment and the ability to send remittances back home further fuel this migration trend.

However, the journey is fraught with danger. Migrants often face detention in Central and South America, endure harsh conditions in U.S. detention centers, and, as seen recently, suffer the indignity of being shackled during deportation. Images of deportees in restraints boarding U.S. military planes earlier this month triggered outrage in India, with critics denouncing the government for failing to negotiate dignified returns.

The large-scale deportations have also taken on political overtones. Opposition parties in India have criticized the government for not arranging chartered flights to bring back deported citizens with dignity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a joint press conference with Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., stated that India was prepared to take back its citizens if they were confirmed as illegal migrants in the U.S. “We have always maintained that those who enter and live in another country illegally have no legal right to stay,” he said.

As the crackdown on illegal immigration intensifies and more deportations loom, attention now shifts to India’s ability to rehabilitate returnees and address the socio-economic challenges that push thousands of young Indians to seek perilous routes to foreign shores.