The third batch of illegal Indian immigrants who were deported from the US to Punjab's Amritsar were taken to their homes in various north Indian states early Monday morning.
The US military aircraft carrying 112 Indian nationals arrived around 10 pm on Sunday, just a day after the second landed in Amritsar. Of the 112 deportees, 44 are from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 31 from Punjab, two from Uttar Pradesh and one each from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, PTI reported.
This is the third such flight of deportees landing in Amritsar airport after US President Donald Trump's inauguration. Earlier on February 5, a US Air Force plane carrying the first batch arrived.
On February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed India's willingness to take back its nationals if they live illegally in the United States and laid emphasis on the need to finish the "ecosystem" of human trafficking. Modi also expressed confidence that Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem, Modi said answering a query at the joint press conference with President Trump after their bilateral talks.
"Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there. As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India - if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back." He said most of the people staying illegally are from ordinary families and are misguided by human traffickers.
"But it doesn't stop just there for us. These are people from ordinary families. They are shown big dreams and most of them are such who are misled and brought here. So, we should attack this entire system of human trafficking. Together, it should be the effort of the US and India to destroy such an ecosystem from its roots so that human trafficking ends...Our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem, and we are confident that President Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem," Modi added.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said on February 6, "The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints."
“The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints. However, we have been informed that women and children are not restrained,” Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha.
“During toilet breaks, deportees are temporarily unrestrained if needed. This is applicable to chartered civilian aircraft as well as military aircraft,” he added.
