New Delhi: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported 54 youths from Haryana who had entered the United States illegally. The young men were detained in US detention centres for several months before being sent back to India.
Upon their return, the deportees alleged that they were subjected to inhumane treatment during their detention. They claimed they were forced to endure harsh conditions, including being made to run as punishment, deprived of adequate food, and kept under strict surveillance. Some even alleged that heaters were used in summer and air conditioners in winter to make their confinement unbearable.
The deportees include 16 from Karnal, 14 from Kaithal, five each from Ambala and Kurukshetra, four from Jind, three from Fatehabad, and a few from Rohtak, Hisar and Palwal.
The youths said they had tried to enter the United States through Mexico and were detained soon after crossing the border. “There were human rights violations in the detention centres. For 14 months, we were locked up without any crime,” one of them said.
They now hope to rebuild their lives and have appealed to the government to provide opportunities to go abroad through legal means.
