Deportees narrate tales of harrowing journey from US

The accounts by the people HT spoke to came on a day on which details of their journey back to the country stirred anger in Parliament.

Several of the 104 Indians deported from the US this week said they were handcuffed and shackled during their 40-hour flight home, with most learning about their deportation only after landing in Amritsar on Wednesday.

The deportees reported a common protocol at detention facilities: confiscation of phones and SIM cards, removal of shoelaces and jewellery, and being kept in cold facilities with limited food (PTI)

People from the group, which included 72 men, 19 women and 13 children, described systematic detention procedures, freezing holding facilities, and a final journey where they remained chained and under strict surveillance.

“We have been treated as if we were some hardcore criminals,” said Lovepreet Kaur, 30, who was deported with her 10-year-old son. “We were not allowed to move in the plane as the handcuffs and chains tied along the waist and feet were not removed when the passengers asked to go to the toilet.”

The accounts by the people HT spoke to came on a day as details of their journey back to the country stirred anger in Parliament and led to external affairs minister S Jaishankar issuing a statement on the issue. Jaishankar said the deportees being sent back in handcuffs and chains has been part of standard operating procedures of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since 2012. He, however, added that women and children are not restrained.

“The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by ICE, that is effective from 2012, I repeat to you, these are procedures in place from 2012, provides for the use of restraints,” Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha. He laid an American document of 2012 on the restraint procedure on the table of the House.

Of the adults who returned on Wednesday, 37 were aged 18-25 years, with another 30 were in their thirties. Some were in the US for just days before detention. Others spent weeks in custody.

The deportees reported a common protocol at detention facilities: confiscation of phones and SIM cards, removal of shoelaces and jewellery, and being kept in cold facilities with limited food. Most were caught in late January at the US-Mexico border.

In detention centres, conditions were severe, according to multiple deportees. Sukhpal Singh of Darapur said “the room’s temperature was intentionally kept very low to hurt the illegal immigrants and little or no food was served” However, Daler Singh noted that during the flight, “they gave us food and other kinds of care including medical assistance”.

The deportation process began abruptly for many. “They took us to a room. Then, they chose Indians from all the detainees,” said Daler Singh. “We guessed that they were releasing us. But they tied our hands with handcuffs and feet with shackles instead.”

The military transport flight lasted approximately 40 hours, during which deportees remained restrained. “We were made to sit face-to-face and were not allowed to have any sort of conversation with anyone throughout the flight,” said Lovepreet Kaur, who said she was held at the Tijuana migrant camp since January 27.

HT could independently verify the condition of those on board the flight.

US Border Patrol chief Michael W Banks posted on social media platform X on Wednesday that the operation “marks the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport,” highlighting their “commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals”.

Upon arrival in Amritsar, deportees received their passports with deportation stamps and learned they were banned from entering the US for five years. Many, including Kaur, are now calling for action against agents who facilitated their journeys. “We want the government to take stringent action against the travel agent for duping us,” she said, after claiming that she was fooled into taking the illegal route into the US.

The deportees spent several hours at the Aviation Club in Amritsar undergoing document verification and medical checks before being released to police teams tasked with escorting them home.

Harwinder Singh of Tahli village was among those who broke down upon reaching home Wednesday. After weeks in detention where he said they “remained without food for days together,” his relief at returning was tempered by trauma. “Ever since I left home to nurture my dream of reaching the US, I lived in constant fear and uncertainty,” he said.

The deportees’ documents revealed a pattern of recent border crossings. Jaspal Singh from Fatehgarh Churian, who left India in February 2024, was detained almost immediately upon attempting to cross.

US authorities have deported more than 1,100 Indian nationals between October 2023 and September 2024. A US embassy spokesperson in India said on Tuesday that Washington was “vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants”.

For the deportees, the immediate concerns are more personal. Many face crushing debts from their failed migration attempts. Families had mortgaged land, borrowed from relatives, or depleted savings - with costs ranging from ₹40 lakh to ₹1.05 crore per person.

The deportees unanimously advised others against illegal migration attempts. “If they want to go abroad, always adopt legal methods and don’t get trapped by the fake agents,” said Daler Singh, who paid half his agreed amount before being forced onto the dangerous “Dunki” route, which involves shuttling through continents before eventually making an illegal land crossing into the US.

State authorities are now focusing on the agents who facilitated these journeys. Multiple deportees have filed complaints seeking recovery of their money, though most said they were unclear about the agents’ full identities or locations.