A US military plane carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants, including 13 children, landed in Amritsar on Wednesday as part of President Donald Trump’s intensified crackdown on undocumented immigrants. This marks the first instance of Indian nationals being deported under the large-scale immigration enforcement campaign that Trump initiated on his first day in office on January 20. The C-17 US military aircraft took off from San Antonio, Texas, and landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at 1:59 PM, where police and civil administration officials were present to receive the deportees. The group consisted of 79 men and 25 women.
Among the 104 deported individuals, 33 each hail from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. According to sources, most of these individuals were caught while attempting to cross into the United States through the US-Mexico border. They were reportedly using the illegal "donkey" route, a dangerous pathway often exploited by human traffickers to smuggle people into the US.
Indian authorities have stated that these deportees are not criminals under Indian law, as they likely left the country through legal channels but attempted to enter the US illegally. There is no legal ground for their arrest upon return, as they have not violated any Indian laws. However, in cases where their passports are unavailable, authorities may identify them using biometric records.
Earlier reports suggested that approximately 200 Indians were onboard the aircraft, but officials later confirmed that the actual number was 104. The state’s NRI Affairs Minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, expressed disappointment over the US government’s decision to deport these individuals. He announced plans to meet with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar next week to discuss the issue, arguing that these immigrants, who contributed to the US economy, should have been granted permanent residency rather than being forcibly removed. Dhaliwal further claimed that many Indians had entered the US legally on work permits, but due to the expiration of their visas, they were reclassified as illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, former Punjab DGP Shashi Kant strongly criticized the deportation, calling it a "shrewd political move." He argued that the decision aligned with Trump’s broader political strategy, consistently emphasizing aggressive immigration enforcement.
Trump has vowed to execute the largest deportation operation in US history. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already compiled a list of nearly 18,000 undocumented Indian nationals slated for removal, part of a broader deportation plan targeting 1.5 million individuals. According to data from the Pew Research Center, approximately 725,000 Indians live in the US without legal documentation, making them the third-largest unauthorized immigrant population after Mexico and El Salvador.
In addition to deporting Indian nationals, the US government has begun ramping up deportation flights for thousands of immigrants detained in various states. The Pentagon has deployed military aircraft to facilitate these removals, with flights already carrying migrants to Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras. The latest efforts have particularly focused on moving over 5,000 immigrants detained in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, further underscoring the administration’s commitment to strict immigration enforcement.
The mass deportations have sparked mixed reactions in both the US and India, with concerns over the humanitarian impact on those forced to return, as well as the broader implications for Indian immigrants seeking opportunities abroad. As Trump’s immigration policies continue to unfold, the fate of thousands more undocumented Indians in the US remains uncertain.
