India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar addressed parliament on Thursday, saying the government is working closely with the United States to ensure that Indian citizens are treated humanely during deportations. His remarks followed the arrival of a US military flight in Amritsar, Punjab, which carried 104 Indians deported for entering the United States illegally.
One of the deportees, Jaspal Singh, shared his experience with BBC Punjabi, stating that he was handcuffed for the duration of the 40-hour flight. “We were tortured in many ways. My hands and feet were tied after we were put on the plane,” Singh said. He added that he was only unshackled after the plane landed in Amritsar. His claims of mistreatment have sparked criticism.
In response, Jaishankar said that US authorities, specifically the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had assured India that women and children were not restrained during the flight. He added that deportation procedures had remained consistent, and that deportees’ basic needs, including food and medical care, were attended to during transit. According to ICE, deportees were allowed to be unrestrained during bathroom breaks.
However, the conditions of the flight have drawn significant attention. The US has not provided further details on how the deportees were treated, but the US Border Patrol shared video footage showing deportees shackled on the flight. In the video, the chief of the border patrol described the deportation as the “farthest deportation flight yet using military transport.”
President Donald Trump has made mass deportation a central policy, and the US is believed to have identified approximately 18,000 Indian nationals who allegedly entered the country illegally. Trump has indicated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to accepting these deportations.
Jaishankar reinforced that all countries have an obligation to accept their citizens who have been deported for illegal entry. He also pointed out the dangerous and exploitative conditions faced by many migrants attempting to reach other countries. Many individuals, including Jaspal Singh, fall victim to fraudulent Indian travel agencies that charge substantial fees for perilous journeys to avoid detection by immigration authorities.
Jaspal Singh, for instance, took out a loan of 4 million rupees ($46,000) to fund his dangerous journey to the US, where he witnessed the deaths of fellow migrants along the way.
The treatment of Indian deportees has drawn condemnation from opposition leaders. Congress MP Manickam Tagore called the deportations “shocking and shameful,” while fellow Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticized the inhumane nature of the deportations. “To send them like this, abruptly in a military aircraft and in handcuffs, is an insult to India,” Tharoor said.
India’s government is facing mounting pressure to address concerns about the treatment of its citizens abroad. Rights groups have continued to urge countries to ensure that deportees are treated with dignity and respect. This is not the first instance of countries expressing outrage over the treatment of deportees, with Brazil and Colombia also taking issue with the US’s handling of migrant deportations in recent months.
