New Delhi: After multiple Indian deportees claimed they were handcuffed and had their legs chained during the long flight, the United States embassy maintained that it was enforcing immigration laws against “inadmissible and removable aliens,” while the Chief of the US Border Patrol shared photos of shackled Indians boarding the plane.
The treatment of Indian citizens onboard the US military plane sparked an outcry from the opposition.
On Wednesday afternoon, 104 Indians arrested for entering the United States were deported to India on a US military plane after a gruelling 40-hour flight. On arrival at Amritsar air force base, they were grilled by security personnel, before they were allowed to return to their homes late in the night.
The US Chief of Border Patrol posted on X videos of Indian migrants entering a C-17 military plane, with their legs and hands chained.
USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals.
If you cross illegally, you will be removed. pic.twitter.com/WW4OWYzWOf
— Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) February 5, 2025
Several deportees, including a woman, later told the media that their legs had been chained and their hands tied, making it difficult to eat, drink, or use the washroom. Their accounts echoed those of deportees previously sent back by the Trump administration to South and Central American countries, which had sparked protests from the Colombian and Brazilian governments.
The deportation flight to India was the first one under the Trump administration that is outside the American hemisphere.
India had always accepted deportees even during previous US administrations, but they were not sent by military planes or shackled during the flight.
When asked, the US embassy in New Delhi did not specifically comment on the allegations, but asserted that the US “faithfully” executes its policies.
“I can’t go into further detail on the flight. I can share that enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States. It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,” said the US embassy spokesperson.
Opposition questions Indian government’s silence
As per PTI, opposition leaders – including Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav – protested the treatment meted out to the Indians by US authorities by staging a demonstration in Parliament complex. Some of the opposition leaders protested while wearing handcuffs.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the way Indians were brought back shows the “weakness” of the government.
“The way women were treated and brought back hand cuffed like criminals …we will not tolerate the insult to the country,” he told reporters in Parliament complex.
He alleged that for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his personal image is more important than the standing of the country. “It is a black day…the prime minister is silent,” he said.
“The way the deportation…was conducted by the US authorities is deplorable and unacceptable. These people were handcuffed with restricted mobility for a long journey in a US military aircraft.
The Modi government has shown a craven attitude by not objecting to such treatment of its citizens. Since more batches of Indians are expected to be deported, the government should ensure that they are treated in a humane and dignified manner,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said in an official statement.
Modi is likely to visit the United States to meet President Donald Trump next week.