New Delhi, Feb 6 (UNI) The chief of the US Border Patrol Michael W. Banks posted a video of the deported Indians bound in shackles as they boarded a US military plane to be flown to India.
In a post on X, Banks wrote:
“Distinct honor to serve as the 27th Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol
“USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport.
“This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals.
“If you cross illegally, you will be removed.”
The video of Indians with their hands and feet bound in shackles boarding the US military C-17 plane has incensed Indians.
To questions if the Indians were bound and shackled while being flown to India, the US Embassy spokesperson said:
“…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,” said Christopher Elms to the media.
The deportation of the Indians triggered a massive uproar in Parliament with the members protesting at the deportation, and their being shackled in the process.
On Wednesday, 104 Indian nationals deported from the US military aircraft landed in Amritsar.
Several of them shared harrowing accounts of their journey to the US, through the infamous “donkey route”, a perilous illegal immigration pathway.
One deportee from Punjab revealed that he was first taken to Italy before being taken to Latin America. Recounting the dangerous journey, he said that they had to walk nearly 40-45 km, and cross several hills along the way, some of which were steep. “Injured travellers were left behind, and we saw dead bodies along the way.”
Another person, Jaspal Singh said he had been deceived by a travel agent, and made to cough up Rs 30 lakh to go to the US.
According to Singh, he was first flown to Brazil last year, where he was made to spend six months. When he attempted to cross to the US he was nabbed by border patrol agents.
Among those deported were 33 persons from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
Singh, from Gurdaspur in Punjab, said they were unshackled only after landing in Amritsar.
“We were handcuffed, and our legs were chained. These were opened at Amritsar airport,” he said.
Recounting the donkey route, another deportee from Punjab Harwinder Singh said he was taken from Qatar, to Brazil, then Peru, Colombia, Panama, and Nicaragua before reaching Mexico.
A resident of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, Harwinder Singh said he used to do farming to support his family. His chose to travel to the US to provide a better future for his family. Singh took a big loan to travel via the donkey route.
Family members of the deportees are now staring at huge financial debts that they have to repay. The families have sought stringent action against the agents who defrauded them and deceived them into taking the donkey route claiming that they would land in US the legal way.
