‘Returned illegal aliens to India’: US Border Patrol chief shares video of shackled deportees boarding flight

A US military C-17 transport aircraft carrying 104 Indians deported for illegal immigration landed in Amritsar on Wednesday.

United States Border Patrol (USBP) chief Michael W Banks released a video showing Indian nationals in handcuffs and leg restraints while boarding a deportation aircraft.

Indians in shackles being escorted to a flight for deportation from the US. (Screengrab)

“USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals. If you cross illegally you will be removed,” Banks wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

A US military C-17 transport aircraft carrying 104 Indians deported for illegal immigration landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, marking the first such deportation to India under President Donald Trump’s second-term crackdown.

The US Air Force plane departed from San Antonio, Texas, and arrived at Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar.

Among the 104 illegal Indian immigrants deported from the United States, 30 were from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, three from Maharashtra, three from Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.

As the Trump administration settled into office on January 20, the US ramped up deportations, using military aircraft to send illegal migrants back to Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras.

India became one of the farthest destinations for such deportation flights. Earlier, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had said that India would facilitate the return of its nationals who were overstaying or residing without proper documentation in the US or elsewhere.