A military aircraft from the United States carrying over 100 deported Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar’s Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, the aircraft was expected to land in the morning.
Tightening immigration policies have led to a surge in deportations, with many of those returning having entered the US illegally, often spending significant sums in the process. Expressing concern over the move, Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal stated, “They have contributed to the US economy and should have been granted permanent residency instead of being deported,” as reported by PTI.
Addressing the issue, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav confirmed that discussions had taken place at a high-level meeting. He noted, “The Chief Minister (Bhagwant Mann) said from the Punjab government’s side, we will receive our immigrants and set up counters (for them) there.” The Punjab government is also in touch with central authorities regarding further developments.
The deportation of Indian nationals is part of a broader global trend, with India reportedly working behind the scenes to maintain favorable ties with the Trump administration. According to Bloomberg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently made several diplomatic concessions to the US to mitigate trade tensions. He is also scheduled to meet Trump in Washington next week.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has yet to comment on the latest deportation. However, earlier reports suggested India had agreed to take back 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants from the US. The Department of Homeland Security had estimated the total number of undocumented Indians in the US to be around 220,000 as of 2022.
In the initial weeks of his presidency, Trump has intensified efforts to enforce immigration laws, urging federal and local authorities to ramp up deportations. This includes deploying the US military to the southern border and organizing more deportation flights.
