Amritsar: A second batch of 119 Indians deported from the United States (US) is expected to arrive at Amritsar International Airport at 10 pm tonight. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reached the airport to monitor the situation and facilitate the smooth arrival.
They will likely arrive in a US military transport aircraft, C-17 Globemaster III, which will land at the Amritsar Airport tonight. The movement follows the deportation of 104 individuals earlier, marking another phase in the US government's intensified crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Addressing the media at the airport, Mann said that 67 of the deportees on the second flight were from Punjab. “We have made all the arrangements for their families to greet them upon arrival. We will also provide vehicles to take the deportees directly to their homes tonight,” he said.
“We have also arranged accommodations at the airport for those who belong to other states. They will be sent to Delhi on a 6:30 am flight on Sunday,” he said.
Mann also promised to extend every support to the deported natives of Punjab. “Those deported who have learnt useful skills will be given opportunities to apply their knowledge in Punjab,” he said.
The Punjab CM also promised to take action against the agents who were transferring people under false pretences to the United States.
Among the 119 people, 67 are from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Regarding the conditions of the deportees, Mann said the state government received no official confirmation about the future course for the deportees as to whether they would be shackled or handcuffed upon arrival.
Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu is also scheduled to receive the deportees. But Mann took a swipe at the minister, urging him to focus on improving railway services rather than receiving the deportees.
Meanwhile, Mann questioned the central government's intention to choose Amritsar as the hub of deportation. “It’s a conspiracy to defame Amritsar, which is a sacred land,” he said.
“The political leaders should consider the impact of their rhetoric ahead of the 2027 elections. They may need to seek votes from the same communities,” Mann said.
Like other nations, he said, the US could have made arrangements for the deportees to be transported in dignity.
Jatinder Singh of Amritsar is among the Indians who are being deported. He went to America after paying 45 lakhs. The others being deported are Daljit Singh, a young man from Kurala Kalan village in Hoshiarpur; Gurmeet Singh of Talania village in Fatehgarh Sahib; and Sahilpreet Singh belonging to Behbal Bahadur village in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala district.
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