US aircraft carrying 119 Indian deportees lands in Amritsar

This is the second such batch of Indian illegal immigrants to be deported by Donald Trump's administration as part of a promised crackdown on illegal migration.

Updated on: Feb 16, 2025, 07:26:58 IST

By HT News Desk, hindustantimes.com

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A plane carrying 119 Indian deportees from the United States landed at Amritsar airport on Saturday.

his is the second such batch of Indian illegal immigrants to be deported by Donald Trump (Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times)

This is the second such batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its promised crackdown on illegal migration.

According to officials, of the 119 deportees, 67 are from Punjab, and 33 are from Haryana.

Eight are from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each is from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier on Saturday, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann visited the international airport in Amritsar, and said his government has made arrangements to take the Punjab residents from among the second batch of deportees to their hometowns. "Our vehicles are ready to take them to their places," he said.

A third plane carrying 157 deportees is also expected to land on Sunday, PTI reported, citing unidentified officials.

First flight and handcuff controversy

Earlier, a US Air Force plane carrying Indian deportees arrived in Amritsar on February 5. A total of 104 Indian nationals were on board the plane that landed in Amritsar.

Many deportees claimed that their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing in Amritsar.

This triggered nationwide outrage, with the opposition demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue with the US during his visit to Washington.

Also Read | BJP alleges Punjab CM playing politics over deportees after ‘conspiracy’ claim

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had alleged that the Indian migrants were treated “even worse than garbage”.

After a widespread outcry in India, New Delhi had conveyed its concerns to Washington about the treatment of deportees.

Punjab CM targets Centre

Ahead of the plane's arrival, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann targeted the Central government over the landing of US planes Indian deportees at Amritsar airport and asked it not to make the holy city a "deport centre".

Do not make our holy city (Amritsar) a deport centre." There are many airbases in the country and the flight can be landed at any one of them, the Punjab chief minister said.

He said Amritsar is known for the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh and Gobindgarh Fort. "Will they allow landing (of deportation flights) at Vatican City, if they (deportees) hail from there?" Mann posed.

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