E-Paper
‘Handcuffed and shackled’: Indian immigrant recounts deportation from US
Harwinder Singh from Hoshiarpur recalled seeing one person die in Panama jungle and another drown in the sea.
Deportees who arrived on a US aircraft in Amritsar on Wednesday said their hands and legs were shackled throughout the journey, with the restraints removed only after landing.
Jaspal Singh, 36, from Gurdaspur district, Punjab, said he was captured by the US Border Patrol on January 24. “We were handcuffed and our legs were chained throughout journey. These were opened at the Amritsar airport,” he claimed.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various states landed in Amritsar on Wednesday. This marks the first batch of Indians deported by the Trump administration as part of its crackdown on illegal immigration.
Among the deportees, 33 were from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. The group included 19 women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two girls, aged five and seven.
Deportees from Punjab were taken to their native places in police vehicles from the Amritsar airport.
After spending six months in Brazil, Jaspal crossed the border into the US, where he was arrested by the US Border Patrol.
Two other deportees, who arrived in their hometowns in Hoshiarpur on Wednesday night, also recounted the ordeal they endured on their journey to the US.
Deportee recalls witnessing death in Panama jungle
Harwinder Singh, who hails from Tahli village in Hoshiarpur, said he left for the US in August last year.
He was taken through Qatar, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, and then Mexico. From Mexico, he and others were transported to the US, he said.
“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 recalled witnessing one person die in the Panama jungle and another drown at sea. Singh added that his travel agent had assured him of a route through Europe before reaching Mexico. He spent ₹42 lakh on his journey to the US.
Clothes stolen on ‘donkey route’
Another deportee from Punjab shared his experience of the ‘donkey route’ taken to the US. He said their clothes, worth ₹30,000-35,000, were stolen along the way.
The deportee explained that they were initially taken to Italy before being transported to Latin America. He described a grueling 15-hour boat ride and a 40-45 km walk.
"We crossed 17-18 hills. If someone slipped, there was no chance of survival. We witnessed a lot, and if anyone got injured, they were left to die. We saw dead bodies," he said.
With PTI inputs
