BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
A U.S. military plane carrying illegal Indian immigrants landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport amid tight security, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
A US military aircraft carrying first batch of 104 illegal Indian immigrants, out of 205, reached Amritsar in Punjab on Wednesday.
Most deportees from the state belong to Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Patiala, Mohali and Sangrur. Some of them had entered the US illegally, while others overstayed their visas.
They were deported on the C-17 plane that took off from San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday. This was the first round of deportation of illegal immigrants that coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington next week.
The Trump administration has increasingly turned to the military to help carry out its immigration agenda, using military aircraft to deport migrants and opening military bases to house them.
Although illegal Indian immigrants have been deported home by previous U.S. administrations, it is the first time Washington has used a military aircraft for the purpose. It is also the farthest destination so far for such flights using a military aircraft.
Migration has been among the key issues discussed by India and the U.S. since Trump took charge last month, and is also expected to come up during Trump’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely to take place in Washington next week.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also ’emphasised’ the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to address “concerns related to irregular migration” when he met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last month.
New Delhi has since said it will take back such illegal immigrants after verifying their details.
The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner and the two countries are forging deeper strategic ties as they look to counter China.
India is also keen to work with the U.S. to make it easier for its citizens to get skilled workers visas.
The Pentagon has said it plans to deport more than 5,000 migrants held by U.S. authorities, and Reuters reported last week that a flight to Guatemala used for the purpose likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant.
Approximately 7,25,000 illegal immigrants from India live in the US, making it the third-largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador, according to data from the Pew Research Centre.
Many people from Punjab, who are now facing deportation, had entered the US through the “donkey route” or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees. The US administration has launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants after Trump became the President
