Amritsar/New Delhi: A US C-17 military plane carrying Indians deported from the US landed in Amritsar today.
Of the 205 Indian nationals deported by the US, 104 arrived at Amritsar Airport onboard the US military aircraft, reports said.
The deportees were undergoing verification by the government officials.
The deportation of the undocumented Indian nationals is in line with US President Donald
Trump’s strict immigration policies.
The aircraft had left with the Indians on February 4. It is the first time the US is using a military plane to deport illegal immigrants.
Among those returning, 33 are from Haryana, 30 from Punjab, and two from Chandigarh, reports said. The deportees also include children.
The Punjab government has arranged buses to transport the deportees to their respective locations.
Individuals without valid documentation will be handed over to the Punjab Police for further processing.
The deportation of the Indian nationals comes days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced concerns over “irregular migration” during his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington last month.
During the January 21 meeting between Marco Rubio and EAM Jaishankar, the US readout of the meeting said that the US side “emphasized the Trump Administration’s desire to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration”.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a recent media briefing declined to put a number to how many Indians are staying illegally in the US, but said that India will take back undocumented Indian nationals.
He said: “We are against illegal immigration, especially because it is linked to several forms of organized crime. For Indians, not just in the United States but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals, and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality that they are indeed Indians. If that happens to be the case, then we will take things forward, we will facilitate the return to India.”
“As part of India-U.S. migration and mobility cooperation, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration, while also creating more avenues for legal migration from India to the U.S. We are keen to continue this cooperation. At the same time, the Government of India would need to do the required verification, including nationality of the concerned individuals before they are deported to India.”
