US military plane carrying deported Indians lands in Punjab

A U.S. deportation flight carrying approximately 100 Indian nationals has arrived in Punjab, India. These Indian nationals were accused of illegally entering the United States, and this repatriation operation is part of the U.S. government's ongoing enforcement of immigration policies.

The military aircraft departed from Texas late Tuesday night and has now arrived in Amritsar. Local authorities stated that measures have been taken to process these deportees. Reportedly, the U.S. has identified approximately 18,000 Indian nationals who have illegally entered the country.

Punjab authorities stated that they have set up dedicated counters to receive the deportees, adding that these individuals will be treated in a "friendly" manner. Journalists gathered outside the police cordon near the Indian Air Force building in Amritsar. The 104 Indian deportees on the flight will be processed separately from regular passengers before being transported by bus to their home states, including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.

The United States is increasingly using military aircraft to repatriate individuals. Nevertheless, deportation flights to India are not new. In the U.S. fiscal year 2024, which ended in September, over 1,000 Indian nationals have been repatriated via charter and commercial flights. In October 2023, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported over 100 Indian nationals lacking legal grounds to remain in the country on a charter flight, marking one instance in a rising trend of deportations to India.

During a media briefing in October, U.S. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary, Royce Bernstein Murray, stated that the number of Indian nationals repatriated by the U.S. has steadily increased in recent years, corresponding with an increase in "encounters" between U.S. authorities and Indian nationals in recent years. She noted that these "encounters" refer to situations where non-citizens are intercepted by U.S. authorities while attempting to cross the U.S. border with Mexico or Canada.

According to official data, a total of 5,477 Indians were deported from the U.S. by ICE between 2018 and 2023. The highest number of deportations occurred in 2020, exceeding 2,300. Statistics regarding the number of undocumented Indian immigrants within the U.S. are disputed. New data from the Pew Research Center indicates that, as of 2022, the number of undocumented Indian immigrants was estimated at 725,000, making them the third-largest group after Mexicans and Salvadorans. In contrast, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates the number at 375,000, ranking India as the fifth-largest source country. Undocumented immigrants account for 3% of the U.S. population and 22% of the foreign-born population.

An ICE document reveals that, as of November, there were still 1.44 million non-citizens in the U.S. on ICE's "non-detained docket" with final orders of removal. Of these, the largest numbers were from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico, each with over 200,000 individuals awaiting deportation. China had 37,908 cases, and India had 17,940 cases. The ICE document states that the U.S. government wants foreign countries to accept their citizens but faces resistance. ICE currently lists 15 countries as "recalcitrant," including China, India, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. Another 11 countries, such as Iraq, Nicaragua, and Vietnam, are considered at risk of becoming recalcitrant.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal recently stated that India "remains strongly opposed to illegal immigration, particularly when it is connected with other forms of organised crime". He also stated: "As part of the India-US Migration and Mobility Partnership, the two sides are working together to prevent illegal immigration, while creating more pathways for legal migration from India to the US. We look forward to continuing this cooperation. At the same time, the Government of India needs to undertake necessary verification, including of nationality, before the concerned persons are deported to India."

Last year, under the leadership of former U.S. President Joe Biden, 271,000 migrants were deported to 192 countries.