Second US deportation flight lands in Amritsar with 116 Indian immigrants

Amritsar/Chandigarh: A plane carrying 116 illegal immigrants from the US landed at the Amritsar airport on Saturday, the second such batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its promised crackdown on illegal migration. The flight landed at the airport around 11:30 pm as against the expected time of 10 pm, official sources said. Earlier, there were reports that the plane would carry 119 immigrants. Among the 116 deportees, 98 are from Punjab and Haryana. While 65 are from Punjab, 33 are from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the deportees are in the age group of 18 to 30, as per the sources.

The second batch of illegal Indian immigrants to deported from the United States has four women and two minors, including a six-year-old girl, the sources said. The families of some of the deportees reached the airport to receive them. A third plane carrying 157 deportees is also expected to land on Sunday, they said.

On February 5, a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport. Of the deportees, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, and 30 from Punjab. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann kept up his attack on the BJP-Centre on Saturday over the landing of US planes with illegal Indian immigrants at the Amritsar airport and asked it not to make the holy city a “deport centre”. Mann visited the international airport in Amritsar and said his government has made arrangements to take the Punjab residents from among the second batch of deportees to their hometowns.

“Our vehicles are ready to take them to their places,” he said. The chief minister said his administration has also offered to take the deportees from Haryana to their destinations. However, the Haryana government has already made arrangements for taking the deportees hailing from the state to their respective places. The deportees from the other states will travel to Delhi from Amritsar on a plane on Sunday morning and will then be taken to their respective places, Mann said.

Arrangements for food has been made for all the deportees, he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly objected to Amritsar being used as a landing point for US deportation flights, urging authorities not to turn the holy city into a “deport centre.”

“Do not make our holy city a deport centre,” Mann told reporters at the Amritsar airport, emphasizing the city’s cultural and historical significance as home to the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh, and Gobindgarh Fort.

The Chief Minister questioned the choice of Amritsar for deportation flights, suggesting that such planes could land at other airbases across the country. He posed a provocative question: “Will they allow the landing in Vatican City, if they (immigrants) hail from there?”

Responding to BJP leader R P Singh’s social media post claiming Amritsar was chosen for its proximity as an international airport for US flights, Mann countered by questioning why the Centre hasn’t established direct flight services to the US from Amritsar, a longstanding demand of the state government.

Mann criticized the central government’s approach, suggesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have discussed the issue with US President Donald Trump and proposed sending India’s own aircraft to bring back the deportees.

The Chief Minister expressed concern about the treatment of deportees, noting uncertainty about whether the second batch would be restrained like the first group. He accused the BJP-led Centre of discrimination against Punjab, stating, “The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming the state.”

“As part of a conspiracy, it (the Centre) is trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis,” Mann alleged, voicing his opposition to the planned landing of another deportation flight in Amritsar.

The BJP hit back at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader on Saturday, accusing him of playing politics over the issue.

Commenting on the matter, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh accused Mann of playing politics over deportees.

“Bhagwant Mann sahab, the people of Punjab want to know how these innocent youngsters went out (of the state), why did they have to go, who were those who spoiled their lives. Why did they have to go adopting illegal routes, who sent them, who were the fraudulent agents?

“These people were forced to sell their land, houses. Rather than catching the culprits and acting against those who spoiled the lives of these youngsters, the ‘AAP-da’ party leader is doing politics over the issue,” Chugh said.

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said the AAP government in Punjab has “failed” to curb human trafficking.

He asked Mann how many travel agents were booked for human trafficking in the last three years.

Bajwa said the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012 regulates the profession of travel agents to check and curb illegal activities.

“Can Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, let Punjabis know how many travel agents have been booked under the same law in the last three years?” the Congress leader asked.

A four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), NRI Affairs, Praveen Sinha, has been formed by Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav to probe complaints regarding the involvement of fraudulent travel agents in deceptive immigration practices.

The DGP on Saturday reiterated the Punjab Police’s commitment to dismantling these criminal networks and protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation.He requested the public to come forward with any information that could assist in apprehending culprits against whom cases have been registered.

Additionally, the DGP advised citizens to only approach licensed agents for immigration services and verify their credentials thoroughly to avoid falling prey to scams.

After the first batch of illegal immigrants was sent back on February 5, most of the deportees hailing from Punjab said they wanted to migrate to the US for a better life for their families. However, their dreams were shattered when they were caught on the US border and sent back in shackles.

Many people from Punjab and other states, who entered the US through the “donkey route” -- an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter America by spending lakhs of rupees -- are now facing deportation.