India has said that it has raised the issue of sending 104 undocumented Indian workers in handcuffs and shackles by military aircraft with America.
A day after Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar gave a detailed statement on this issue in Parliament, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that India has raised the issue of sending back Indian citizens living there illegally with America in a humiliating manner.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit America on 12-13 February. The Ministry of External Affairs has indicated that PM Modi can raise the issue of sending Indians back in a humiliating manner in bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump.
A US military plane landed at Amritsar airport on Wednesday carrying 104 Indian citizens. They were allegedly living in America without valid documents. All these people were handcuffed and shackled on their feet.
What did the Foreign Secretary say?
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was present at the Foreign Ministry briefing on Friday. The question of the humiliating deportation of illegal Indian immigrants living in the US was raised before him.
He was asked whether, like Brazil, India had also raised the issue of mistreatment of its citizens with the US.
On this, Misri said, “Yes, India has raised this issue with the US authorities. Landing the Indians at Amritsar airport was a little different from earlier actions. The Trump administration had considered it a national security operation, so the passengers were brought differently. Perhaps this was the reason why military aircraft were used for the passengers.”
Misri said that the treatment meted out to illegal Indian immigrants could have been avoided. This issue must be raised. He said that India will continue to raise this issue with the US.
The Foreign Secretary said, “India has always stressed that people should be treated fairly and with respect. Whenever any case of mistreatment of deportees comes to our notice, we raise it and we will continue to do so in the future.”
The final deportation order includes the names of 487 people
Misri said that the final deportation order of the US includes the names of 487 Indians. The Trump administration has shared the names of 298 of these people. Indian officials are investigating whether these people are Indian citizens or not.
A report in the Times of India said that the US had initially sent the names of 203 Indians to be deported, the names of the 104 people who have been deported are part of this list.
Out of the remaining 99 people, 96 have been confirmed to be Indian citizens. It is believed that America will now send them on the next flight.
Anger in India
A lot of anger is being seen in India regarding the matter of sending Indians back wearing handcuffs and shackles.
People in India expressed their anger when America released a video of sending Indians back. In the video, Indians are seen with masks on their faces, handcuffs on their hands and shackles on their feet.
United States Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks wrote in his X post along with the video, “India’s illegal aliens have been successfully sent back. We are committed to the rules of immigration. If you come illegally, you will be sent back in the same way.”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala asked the government, “Is this behavior humane or like that of terrorists?”
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh asked if there is any plan to send our planes to bring back Indian citizens.
Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney wrote on X that India should not have accepted this behavior of America.
People are raising questions as to why India could not show the courage that Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil showed against the issue of the return of illegal immigrants.
Why is Colombia being praised?
Recently when America sent back the people of Colombia, its President Gustavo Petro took a tough stand.
In January, when America sent back the citizens of Colombia on a military plane, Gustavo Petro did not allow it to land in his country.
President Petro said that he would bring back his fellow citizens in normal (civilian) planes and would not treat them like criminals.
Donald Trump was so angry with this move in Colombia that he announced to imposition of an additional 25 percent tariff on Colombia.
Petro said he would retaliate in kind.
The White House later said Colombia had now agreed to accept migrants arriving on US military planes, so the US would not go ahead with tariffs.
Diplomats from the two countries reached an agreement under which Colombia sent its air force planes to pick up the migrants.
Petro said the process ensured the migrants would be treated “respectfully.”
“They are Colombians, free and respected. In their homeland where they are loved,” Petro wrote on Instagram.
He also posted photos of migrants disembarking from planes without handcuffs.
What did India’s Foreign Minister Jaishankar say
On this entire matter, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar presented the government’s side in Parliament on Thursday
Jaishankar had said, “The process of deportation is not new, but it has been happening for years. We are talking to the US government that those who are being deported should not be treated inhumanly in the flight.”
Lakhs of people were deported in the previous US administration as well.
According to official figures, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 5,477 Indians from the US between 2018 and 2023. In the year 2020, the highest number of 2,300 Indians were deported in a year.
In 2024, till September, 1000 Indian citizens were deported from the US.
How expensive is it to send illegal immigrants back?
The US Army’s C-17 aircraft was used to return illegal Indian immigrants.
The C-17 is a heavy military transport aircraft. According to news agency Reuters, last week, the cost of sending back illegal immigrants from Guatemala was $4,675 per passenger, which is five times more than the average cost of first class, which is $853.
Reuters quoted an unnamed US official as saying that the cost of sending 64 immigrants to Guatemala by C-17 aircraft was about $28,500 per hour.
At this rate, it would have cost more than Rs 4 crore to bring Indians to Amritsar by C-17.\
