Story by Raksha Bhattacharjee
Between 10 and 11 p.m. on Saturday, the second aircraft of Indian deportees from the US is allegedly scheduled to land in Amritsar.
An American military plane carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is scheduled to land at Punjab’s Amritsar International Airport on Saturday as part of the second round of deportations as part of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The U.S. military aircraft, a C-17, will transport 67 individuals from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, 8 from Gujarat, 3 from Uttar Pradesh, 2 from Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and 1 from Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh.
It is anticipated that the flight would reach the Amristar airport on Saturday at approximately 10 p.m.
Deportations will continue every other week until all illegal immigrants are not returned to their home countries, according to a report by the news agency PTI.
104 undocumented Indian migrants were deported from the United States last week. A US military C-17 transport plane took them to Amritsar.
PM Modi on human trafficking and illicit migration
The deportations also coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to the United States, during which he met with Trump to discuss immigration and other important bilateral problems.
PM Modi stated at a joint news conference that New Delhi is prepared to reclaim its people who are in the United States unlawfully.
According to him, the majority of people who are unlawfully in the US are from regular families who are frequently misled by human traffickers.
Big dreams are shown to them, and the majority of them are duped and brought here. We should therefore target the entire human trafficking system.
In order to eradicate human trafficking, the United States and India should work together to eradicate such an environment from the ground up.
At the press conference, the prime minister stated, “We are confident that President Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem, and our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem.”
How Indian deportees are treated
It is noteworthy, therefore, that the way the deported Indians were treated did not sit well with the public and caused a great deal of controversy in both the political and public spheres.
Leaders of the opposition harshly criticized the Center, urging it to condemn the unjust treatment of the deportees.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has defended the handcuffing and shackling of deportees as a routine security measure employed on deportation flights to stop disruptions or escape attempts.
Many have countered that this is an excessive and cruel procedure, particularly for those who have committed no crimes other than immigration offenses.
EAM Jaishankar’s declaration
S Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, spoke about the issue in parliament and claimed that India is interacting with US officials to guarantee the deportees receive respect.
He also emphasized the need to respect immigration regulations without sacrificing humane treatment.
The federal government is under tremendous pressure to oversee the reintegration efforts after the Trump administration destroyed the lives of thousands of Indians.
With the aid of improved border control and diplomatic discussions, India will also need to figure out how to stop illicit migration as the US tightens its immigration regulations.
