Indians deported from US were ‘handcuffed, humiliated’, claims Congress

Pawan Khera, chairman of the Congress party’s media and publicity department, said, “Looking at the pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated while being deported from the US saddens me as an Indian.”

“I remember in December of 2013, an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was handcuffed and strip searched in America. Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh registered a strong protest with US Ambassador Nancy Powell,” said Khera in a post on X.

“The UPA govt retaliated sharply. Leaders like Ms Meira Kumar, Sushil Kumar Shinde & Rahul Gandhi refused to meet the US Congressional delegation (George Holding, Pete Olson, David Schweikert, Rob Woodall and Madeleine Bordallo) that was visiting India at that time,” he added.

About the 2013 incident, Khera said that the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had “termed the US action ‘deplorable’”. “Govt of India withdrew several perks given to the US embassy, including imports of food and alcohol at concessional rates by embassy staff,” Khera said.

“Income Tax department started investigating the American Embassy school… John Kerry expressed regrets at the treatment given to Devyani Khobragade. US administration called up foreign secretary Sujatha Singh to convey the regrets of the USA,” said the Congress leader.

Congress’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi also protested against “the manner in which the United States government has sent Indians back to our country”. “The way they are being chained is demeaning and dehumanising. I cannot understand why Prime Minister Modi is silent on the way Indians are being treated by the Trump administration,” Gogoi said in a post on X.

On the deportation of Indians, a US embassy spokesperson in Delhi had said on Tuesday: “The United States is vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants. These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk.”

This is the first batch of illegal immigrants from India to be deported since Donald Trump’s return to office.

As The Indian Express reported on January 21, 2025, there are 20,407 “undocumented” Indians, as of November 2024, who are either facing “final removal orders” or are, currently, in detention centres of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Both Khera and Gogoi could not be reached for comment.