Last Updated:February 07, 2025, 09:23 IST

Deported Indians From US: American official’s statement comes at a time when deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from US has sparked a debate, with Opposition targeting government over “inhumane” treatment being meted out to deportees.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that many people who seek mass migration are often victimized, and the only people to benefit from it are traffickers.

“Many of the people who seek mass migration are often victimized along the way. It’s not good for anyone. The only people who benefit from mass migration are traffickers,” Rubio posted on X.

His statement comes at a time when deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from US has sparked a debate in India, with Opposition targeting government over “inhumane” treatment being meted out to deportees and Centre promising a strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry and taking steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers.

Top Points:

• How Many Indians Were Deported From US? As many as 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Punjab on Wednesday. The C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force landed at the Amritsar airport with residents of Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chandigarh and included 19 women and 13 children.

• Why Are Immigrants Being Sent Back To India? The deportation is part of Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The US President had won the recent election on this plank, and has been vigorously pursuing this ever since he took office.

• Why Is Opposition Targeting Government? Media reports highlighting ordeal of the deportees triggered protests in Parliament. According to reports, the deportees alleged that they were made to travel onboard the military aircraft for over 40 hours with hands manacled and legs shackled. They had been unrestrained only during toilet breaks, which required long waits in the queue as they had access to only one of the lavatories onboard.

• Did Government Defend Itself? What Did It Say? The Centre played down the alleged inhumane deportation by Donald Trump’s government, and argued that placing deportees under restraints was a part of the standard operating procedure the United States had been following since 2012.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in fact, stressed in Parliament that the focus should be on initiating a strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry and taking steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers. He further said that the Centre is in talks with the United States to ensure that no returnee is ill-treated.

• A source told News18 that one person among the 104 Indian deportees repatriated from the US was on Interpol’s wanted list. Legal proceedings are currently underway to address the case and law enforcement agencies are taking the necessary legal measures to handle the cases appropriately, sources added.

• What Did US Say Amid Uproar In India? The United States defended its decision. The US Embassy in India said that “enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States.” “I cannot go into further detail on the flight. I can share that enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States. It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,” a US Embassy spokesperson said.

• Vlogger Aditya Tiwari, who stays in Utah state of the western United States, told News18 that the illegal migration industry offers several packages ranging from Rs 15-20 lakh to Rs 70-80 lakh. “The first mentioned package takes you through jungles in Panama, and through second package agents take you through flight from Azerbaijan, Argentina etc,” Tiwari, who spreads awareness through his videos about not to enter US illegally, said.