US deports 205 illegal Indian immigrants, first batch arrives in Amritsar

Amritsar: A US military cargo plane carrying 205 illegal Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar International Airport at 1:55 pm on Tuesday. The deportation, carried out via a C-17 aircraft from San Antonio, Texas, marks the first batch of Indians sent back by the US ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington next week.

According to sources, 104 of the deported individuals disembarked in Amritsar. Among them, 30 are from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, two from Uttar Pradesh, three from Maharashtra, and two from Chandigarh.

The move follows External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s recent statement that New Delhi supports the deportation of Indian nationals living illegally in other countries, including the US. Estimates suggest that around 7.25 lakh Indians reside illegally in the US.

Many of these individuals reportedly entered the US through unauthorized means, often referred to as the ‘dunky route,’ spending significant sums to reach the country without proper documentation.