A US military C-17 aircraft carrying 205 Indian nationals deported as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to combat illegal immigration has landed in Amritsar. The flight, which took off from Texas yesterday, marks the first significant deportation of Indian immigrants under the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
US aircraft carrying illegal Indian immigrants lands at Amritsar airport
Not just from Punjab, illegal immigrants from Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh are also being deported by the US. The deportees include 25 women and 12 minors, with the youngest… pic.twitter.com/643Pp5Jydv— Gagandeep Singh (@Gagan4344) February 5, 2025
“They were all ‘verified’ by New Delhi,” sources told NDTV. This means deportation is part of the overall effort to bring back illegal Indian immigrants from the US. This flight, C-17, is just going to be the first of many, as India and the US continue to make good on this issue of undocumented migrants.
Since his inauguration, Trump has stepped up his hardline approach to immigration. He deployed military aircraft to take migrants away from countries like Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras. The flight of Indians deported back into the country is part of the larger scheme crafted by Trump in terms of immigration enforcement.
A US C-17 military aircraft carrying illegal immigrants is set to land at Amritsar Airport (Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport) by this afternoon. Their criminal records will be scrutinized, and those from nearby states will be deported by road. According to media… pic.twitter.com/n6hnQVNdGn
— Gagandeep Singh (@Gagan4344) February 5, 2025
India and the US Deport Indians Together
The deportation takes place at a time when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the US for the first time since Trump’s second term as president. Sources claim that in his meetings with Trump, Indian Prime Minister Modi had promised that India would do whatever was required to send illegal Indian migrants back to their homeland.
As part of the US-India efforts, the two nations reportedly identified approximately 18,000 Indian nationals who entered the US illegally. Dr. S Jaishankar, the Indian External Affairs Minister, stated that New Delhi does not oppose the “legitimate return” of Indian nationals living illegally abroad, including in the US.
Situation of Illegal Immigration Regarding India
According to him in his statement, the process is a historic and never-seen one where it said “For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came”.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India renewed its stance in that it was against illegal immigration since it involved organized crime. The spokesperson of the ministry, Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that India would facilitate the repatriation of Indian nationals overstaying or illegally staying abroad upon receipt of such documents to validate their nationality.
US Immigration Tightens Its Ranks
A US Embassy spokesperson in New Delhi confirmed that the US is “vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants.” According to the spokesperson, “These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk.”
This deportation marks the beginning of a significant repatriation process that will continue as both countries address the growing issue of illegal immigration.
