Indians deported from the U.S. being escorted by the police as they leave the airport upon their arrival, in Amritsar, early Sunday on February 16 , 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

The second batch, comprising 116 undocumented Indian immigrants, deported on the U.S. C-17 aircraft that landed at Punjab’s Amritsar International Airport on Saturday (February 15, 2025) night said they were handcuffed and chained during the journey.

Sources said the women on the flight were not handcuffed or chained this time, unlike the previous deportation flight from the U.S. to Amritsar.

Also read | Punjab ministers meet illegal Indian immigrants who were deported from US to Amritsar

The deportations follow President Donald Trump’s recent crackdown on illegal immigrants. Earlier, on February 5, a U.S. military plane brought 104 illegal immigrants in handcuffs and chains to Amritsar, inviting sharp criticism from several quarters.

Talking to media persons in Hoshiarpur, Daljit Singh, one of the deportees, said that they were “handcuffed with their legs chained” in the aircraft. Mr. Singh said he was duped by a travel agent who, instead of directly taking him to the U.S., resorted to the ‘dunki (donkey)’ route to illegally enter the United States.

“We were handcuffed and our legs were chained during the journey,” Mr. Singh said in Hoshiarpur on Sunday. He hails from Kurala Kalan village in Hoshiarpur district.

After the first batch of deportees arrived, the Opposition had questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre on why the migrants had been “deported in shackles”.

According to officials, of the 116 deportees, 65 were from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Another plane, with the third batch of deportees, is expected to arrive on the night of February 16 at Amritsar airport, sources said.

Sourav, 27, hailing from Chandiwala village in Ferozepur district, also said that the deportees were handcuffed and chained during their journey to Amritsar. “We were handcuffed and our legs were shackled,” he said in response to a question from media persons.

Sharing his ordeal, Mr. Sourav, who left for the U.S. in December 2024, said the travel agent had assured him legal entry to the U.S., but instead, he had been taken to the U.S. border through Mexico, and while crossing the border, the American authorities caught him on January 27. “They kept me along with others in a camp for several days. Two days ago, we were told that we were being sent to India on a plane,” he said.

On February 15, ahead of the second flight from the U.S., senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member P. Chidambaram took to social media platform X to target the Union government. “All eyes will be on the U.S. aircraft which will land today [Saturday] in Amritsar bringing back illegal immigrants. Will the deportees be handcuffed and their legs tied with ropes? It is a test for Indian diplomacy,” Mr. Chidambaram said in his post.

After immigration and background checks, the deportees from Punjab were taken to their homes in police vehicles. The Haryana government also made transportation arrangements for the deportees from Haryana.

From among the deportees, the Punjab Police arrested two youths, Sandeep Singh and Pradeep Singh, hailing from Rajpura in Patiala district. They are wanted in connection with a murder case of 2023, Patiala’s Senior Superintendent of Police Nanak Singh said.

A large number of people, especially youth from Punjab, travel abroad in the hope of a better life, including a rising trend of considerable magnitude in illegal migration. However, there is a paucity of authentic data on illegal migration in the public domain. 

The Punjab Police set up a Special Investigation Team to probe illegal human trafficking and migration after the deportation of 104 migrants from the U.S. in the first batch. So far, 10 First Information Reports have been registered against travel agents based on the statements of deportees.