Handcuffed, Chained: Video Shows Deported Indian Migrants' Harrowing Ordeal on US Flight

Amritsar: “We were treated like criminals. Our hands were cuffed, our legs were chained throughout the flight. We were only freed when we landed in India,” said Jaspal Singh, one of the 104 Indians deported from the United States on Wednesday. This marks the first such mass deportation under the Donald Trump administration, which took charge last month and vowed to act against undocumented immigrants.  

As tensions rose over whether the deported Indians were handcuffed, Michael W. Banks, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), shared a video showing them walking in a line with handcuffs on.  

He wrote, "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."

The deportees, brought in a US military aircraft, said they had no idea they were being sent back until they were put on the plane. “They didn’t tell us anything. We thought we were being taken to another detention camp. Then, a police officer informed us that we were being deported,” Singh recalled.  

Among the deportees, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat , 30 from Punjab , three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said. The group also included 19 women and 13 minors, with the youngest being a four-year-old boy and two girls aged five and seven.  

The arrival of the deportees comes just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s scheduled visit to Washington, where he is set to hold wide-ranging discussions with Trump. The Punjab government has sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in the matter.  

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who met some of the returnees at the airport, criticized the deportation and urged Modi to discuss the issue with his “friend” Trump. "Modi ji had once said 'Trump is my friend.' Now, when Indians are being deported in such a manner, he should intervene and protect their interests," Dhaliwal said.  

Meanwhile, Punjab BJP leader Harjit Singh Grewal demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann arrange for the rehabilitation and employment of those sent back. He also pressed for a crackdown on travel agents who illegally send people abroad through the "donkey route" and other fraudulent methods.  

The Congress termed the deportation of Indians in handcuffs as a matter of humiliation and drew parallels with the 2013 Devyani Khobragade case, where the Indian diplomat was subjected to harsh treatment by US authorities.  

At Amritsar airport, tight security arrangements were in place, with heavy barricading and a strong police presence. The deportees were questioned by multiple agencies, including Punjab Police and central intelligence units, to verify if any had criminal records.  

By evening, those from Punjab were sent to their respective hometowns in police vehicles, while deportees from Haryana and other states were handed over to their respective authorities.  

(With Inputs from PTI)