A United States military aircraft, carrying dozens of undocumented Indian nationals, made a surprising landing in Northern India on Wednesday morning, as captured in a Reuters video. A defense official with direct knowledge of the situation informed NBC News that approximately 100 undocumented Indian immigrants were on board the flight. This event adds to the escalating trend of deportations utilizing military aircraft, following President Donald Trump’s recent executive order granting the military a role in immigration enforcement and border security.
Upon arrival at the Amritsar airport in India, an Indian immigrant who had been deported from the U.S. was seen sitting in a police vehicle. The Embassy of India declined to provide specific details regarding the deportation but directed inquiries to recent statements made by Shri. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, during a media briefing last week. Jaiswal emphasized India’s strong opposition to illegal migration and assured cooperation with efforts to curb such activities, highlighting the robust and effective collaboration between India and the U.S. in this realm.
The military plane responsible for this deportation was a C-17 aircraft, primarily used for transporting supplies and troops, which departed earlier in the week and touched down in Amritsar, located in the state of Punjab. At the airport, Punjab’s cabinet minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, interacted with a few young Indian nationals who had been repatriated. Despite the fatigue from the lengthy journey, the deportees appeared to be in good health as per Dhaliwal’s observations shared with the press. Additionally, Dhaliwal urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit the United States the following week, to collaborate with President Trump in providing better support for individuals facing deportation.
Expressing concerns over the looming threat of deportation and imprisonment for Indians residing abroad, Dhaliwal called upon PM Modi, who had shown support for Trump during his election campaign, to leverage their friendship for addressing the issue at hand. Trump, in a recent statement, mentioned having a “productive” call with Modi, anticipating that India would take appropriate actions regarding the repatriation of undocumented Indian immigrants.
The recent military airlift operations supporting deportation flights for over five thousand undocumented immigrants, as announced by then-Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses, have sparked controversies and faced obstacles in various countries. Mexico, for instance, obstructed a U.S. military flight carrying undocumented immigrants in late January. Similarly, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro initially resisted accepting two military flights bound for the country. However, following Trump’s threats of imposing severe retaliatory measures including tariffs and visa sanctions, Colombia eventually agreed to comply with the terms set forth by the White House, marking a significant development in the ongoing deportation saga.
