Chandigarh/Amritsar, 5 February 2025: A US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian nationals deported for illegal immigration landed at Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon. The C-17 plane, which departed from San Antonio, Texas, touched down at 1:55 p.m.
Among those deported, 30 are from Punjab, while 33 each hail from Haryana and Gujarat. Three individuals are from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. An official confirmation of the total number is awaited.
This marks the first round of deportations coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Washington. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar had previously mentioned that India is open to the “legitimate return” of its citizens living illegally abroad, including in the US. Last month, he conveyed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that India is willing to accept these migrants after verification.
According to the Pew Research Center, around 725,000 Indians live illegally in the US, making them the third-largest group of unauthorized immigrants after Mexicans and Salvadorans. Many of those now facing deportation, particularly from Punjab, had entered the US using the “donkey route” or other illegal methods, often spending large sums of money.
The deportation comes amid an intensified US crackdown on illegal immigration, a policy reinforced after Donald Trump became president.
