A US military plane carrying at least 100 deportees has landed in India, marking the longest such flight since President Donald Trump took office.
This flight is seen as a sign that even countries with leaders who share close ties with Trump will not be exempt from his strict immigration policies.
The use of an American military aircraft for the deportation to India appears to be unprecedented, as most deportations are typically carried out on commercial flights. Last year, over 1,000 Indian nationals were sent back to their home country on such flights.
India, one of the largest sources of unauthorised immigration to the United States, has seen increasing numbers of deportations. According to reports, nearly 20,000 Indian migrants are currently facing imminent deportation.
In 2022, the Pew Research Center estimated that over 700,000 undocumented Indian immigrants were living in the U S, second only to Mexico and El Salvador.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which maintains a close relationship with President Trump, has expressed its willingness to accept deportees and has publicly stated that India is better equipped than most countries to handle the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
However, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, a minister in the Punjab state government, criticised Trump’s tough stance on illegal immigration, urging the Indian government to resist the pressure to accept deportees.
In an interview on Tuesday, Dhaliwal said, “The Indian federal government must take this very seriously—after all, there are people from many Indian states who have been deported.
“And what is their crime? They may have gone illegally, but it was for their livelihoods. I am greatly disheartened.
“President Trump must give these people another chance and, on humanitarian grounds, do a rethink of his decision.”
Dhaliwal also stated that he would be at the airport to welcome the deportees and ensure that they were not treated as criminals upon arrival.
Indian migrants have increasingly been crossing into the U S through Mexico, with over 25,000 arrests recorded at the southern border last year, according to US government data. Additionally, the northern border with Canada saw a rise in arrests involving Indian migrants.
Boluwatife Enome
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