New Delhi:
The United States’ deportation of illegal migrants is not a new development, and has been going for several years, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha Thursday afternoon, amid sharp criticism from the opposition over the way Washington, D.C., treated the deportees.
Mr Jaishankar – whose statement was demanded by the opposition and spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi before speaking – pointed to hundreds of Indians deported every year, for illegally entering or staying in that country. These numbers ranged from 530 in 2012 to over 2,000 in 2019.
“It is in our collective interest to encourage legal mobility and discourage illegal movement (and) it is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad.”
“The process of deportation (by the US) is, therefore, not new… it has been there for years. This is not a policy applicable to only one country. Our focus should be on crackdown on illegal migrants,” he said, acknowledging also, “We are engaging with the US to ensure deportees are not mistreated.”
He also said US authorities had not restrained women and children, and that “needs of deportees, related to food and other necessities, including possible medical emergencies” were attended to.
Video posted by US Border Patrol showing shackled deportees.
Mr Jaishankar’s brief opening remarks were followed by a volley of questions and criticism from the opposition benches, including Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale asking why the Indian government could not have sent a plane – military or civilian charter – to bring back its citizens in a more humane manner.
“We are the fifth-largest economy in the world… when countries like Colombia, which don’t even figure in the top 10, can send an aircraft and bring their citizens back with dignity, what stops our government from sending an aircraft? We don’t have a shortage of these…” he said.
The reference was specifically to Colombia and its stand-off with the US on this issue.
The first flights to the South American country were also US military aircraft on which too deportees were shackled, prompting furious protests from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who refused to let any more such flights land in his country. The US responded by slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Colombia, which then agreed to send planes from its Air Force to bring back its citizens.
Earlier today videos shared by the US Border Patrol – USBP chief Michael Banks posted this on X – showed the to-be deported Indian citizens handcuffed and shackled together and led on to a C-17 military transport plane. They were then strapped into their seats and flown to Amritsar.
READ | “You Will Be Removed”: US Border Patrol Video Of Indians In Chains
On landing, deportees spoke of being handcuffed to their seats for long periods and denied toilet breaks, prompting opposition MPs to red-flag potential human rights violations by the US.
READ | Handcuffed, Thrown Like Boxes: Indian Migrants’ US Nightmare
Among those horrific claims was one by 36-year-old Jaspal Singh from Punjab’s Gurdaspur, who said he paid Rs 30 lakh to an agent who promised him legal passage to the US. Instead, he was trafficked through an illegal and perilous path that involves transiting via a South American country.
#WATCH | Hoshiarpur, Punjab: An Indian citizen who illegally migrated to the US says, “… I was lied to that I would be sent legally but I was sent by ‘donkey’ route… I faced a lot of difficulties on the way. Now that I am back here, I will work here… I crossed the border… pic.twitter.com/GCF2pRVLOi
— ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2025
The manner of these deportations triggered the furious response from the opposition MPs.
Led by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and backed by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and others, several MPs protested with placards screaming ‘humans, not prisoners’.
Opposition MPs protest against the US’ treatment of deportees.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has turned, increasingly, to the military to carry out its immigration agenda, using its aircraft to deport migrants and opening its bases to house them, and this has been seen as the Republican leader’s ‘strong message’ on his hardline immigration agenda.
All of this – the deportations, the shackling of deportees, and the opposition row – comes days before Mr Modi and Mr Trump are to met in Washington, D.C. The two leaders are to meet on February 12.
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