US military flight with 119 illegal Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar, more likely today

On Saturday, the C17 Globemaster III carrying 119 illegal immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport at 11.40 pm. Among the 119, 100 are from Punjab and Haryana. While 67 are from Punjab, 33 are from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The deportees include four women and two minors, including a six-year-old girl, sources said, adding that most of the deportees are in the age group of 18 to 30 years.

In the earlier batch of deportees who landed on February 5, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, and 30 from Punjab.

Speaking to The Indian Express earlier, sources said that after security clearance, the deportees would be offered food and then transported to their home districts. “Those from Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra will be transported via early morning flights being coordinated by the central government authorities, while vehicles have been kept ready for those from within Punjab and neighbouring Haryana,” a senior official posted at the Amritsar airport said.

Earlier this month, photos and videos of Indian deportees handcuffed and shackled as they boarded the US military plane had triggered outrage. Targeting the Centre, the Opposition argued that the Indian government should have sent its own aircraft to bring back its citizens with dignity.

It is not clear yet whether the deportees on Sunday will be sent on a military plane too.

However, sources said there will be more flights returning undocumented Indian citizens, in line with several statements made by US President Donald Trump. “We’ve been told there are 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had said earlier.

During a joint press conference with Trump at the White House on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India was “fully prepared” to take back any verified Indian who was in the US illegally.

“We are of the opinion that anybody who enters and lives in another country illegally, they have absolutely no legal right or authority to live in that country… As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India — if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back,” Modi said.

He said this issue was not limited to India alone, and the “bigger fight” was on ending this “ecosystem” which is involved in “human-trafficking”.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday criticised the Centre’s decision to land the flights carrying deportees in Amritsar, calling it a conspiracy to malign Punjab and Punjabis.

“I have already raised this issue with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), but I haven’t received a satisfactory response. One such flight landed a few days ago, and now two more are being sent here without any justification,” he said.

He also raised security concerns, pointing to the geographical proximity to Pakistan. “If the government refuses to start international flights from Amritsar citing security reasons, how is it allowing a US military aircraft to land here,” he asked.

Illegal immigration is a national problem but is being portrayed as exclusive to Punjab, he said. “Why is it that the plane carrying former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina could land at Hindon Air Force Station and Rafale jets could land in Ambala, but these deportation flights must land in Amritsar,” he asked.

Taking a swipe at the PM, Mann said: “While Modi was shaking hands with his friend Donald Trump, Indian citizens were being deported in chains on a military aircraft. The chained Indians being sent back are Trump’s return gift to Modi.”

Among the relatives waiting at the arrival terminal on Saturday night was Mangal Singh, who had sold two trucks and a land parcel to fund his son Jasnoor Singh’s (19) journey to the US.

“Apart from that, I also borrowed Rs 10 lakh from relatives and spent a total amount of Rs 55 lakh. He (my son) left Amritsar on June 9 last year. He was taken via the jungle. They traveled by bus, taxi and on foot too. He remained stuck in Colombia for six months. I came to know only in the afternoon that he was being deported. I called the agent but he didn’t answer the phone. I want the government to return all the money,’ he told this newspaper.