Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Wednesday, 5th February, that New Delhi is engaging with the U.S. to ensure that illegal Indian immigrants are not mistreated while being deported after opposition parties protested against the treatment of a group that was sent back this week.
A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deportees landed on Tuesday, 4th February, in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in India’s Punjab state, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
The deportation came a week before Trump is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington and sparked a political furore in India, with opposition parties demanding a discussion in parliament over how the deportees were treated during their return.
Jaishankar told parliament that the process of deportation followed by U.S. authorities was not a new one and it allows for use of restraints on immigrants being returned to their home countries.
He also said that the women and children among the deportees were not restrained, adding that India’s focus should be on strongly cracking down on the illegal migration industry.
“It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad,” Jaishankar said, adding that hundreds of Indians have been deported every year for years.
“We are engaging the U.S. government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight,” he said.
Earlier on 5th February, the Times of India and the Indian Express newspapers said all immigrants, barring children, were handcuffed during the flight, quoting unnamed officials in Punjab who said they had spoken to the deportees.
The deportees underwent hours of scrutiny at Amritsar airport before police escorted them out in small groups in police vehicles.
“USBP (U.S. Border Patrol) and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport,” USBP chief Michael Banks said in a post on X on 5th February.
