A US plane carrying 119 illegal immigrants is set to land at Amritsar airport on Saturday night, marking the second batch of Indians deported under Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migration.
TNIE earlier reported that two US military flights carrying Indian immigrants would land in Amritsar on February 15 and 16, after a first flight carrying 104 deportees had arrived in the city on February 5.
The deportations come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Trump at the White House.
When asked whether PM Modi had raised the issue of deportation and the inhumane conditions of their return during his meeting with Trump, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, "Yes, it (the issue of illegal immigration) did figure during the discussions today."
Misri added that Modi did emphasise during the discussions that the return of illegal immigrants is not the end of the story.
"There is an ecosystem that thrives on this racket and that promotes and enables this racket, and it is the responsibility of both countries to do something about this," he added.
Earlier in the day, during a joint conference with Trump, Modi said, "India is prepared to take back" verified Indian citizens living in the US illegally.
Notably, the second US flight is expected to land at the airport around 10 pm on Saturday. Among the 119 deportees, 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.
This is the second group of deportees from the US since Trump took office.
On February 5, the first group of 104 Indian deportees had arrived in Amritsar after a nearly 40-hour journey, during which they were handcuffed and had their legs chained chained, sparking nationwide outrage over inhumane treatment by the US.
Meanwhile, Congress on Saturday said the manner of return of the second batch of deportees, a day after PM Modi's meet with Trump, will be a "test for Indian diplomacy."
"All eyes will be on the U.S. aircraft which will land today in Amritsar bringing back illegal immigrants. Will the deportees be handcuffed and their legs tied with ropes? It is a test for Indian diplomacy," Congress leader P Chidambaram wrote on X.
When asked whether India had registered its protest to the US over the mistreatment of its nationals, Misri had earlier said: "It is a valid issue to raise, and we continue to emphasise to the US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees. We will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention. Action needs to be taken across the system against the underlying ecosystem that thrives on promoting illegal immigration."
Of the 104 deportees, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, and 30 were from Punjab. Some of the deportees said they had migrated to the US for a better life for their families. However, their dreams were shattered when they were caught on the US border and sent back in shackles.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday questioned the move to land another plane at the Amritsar airport, as he accused the Centre of trying to defame Punjab as part of a conspiracy.
"The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming the state," Mann said while addressing the media in Amritsar on Friday evening.
"As part of a conspiracy, they are trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis," he said.
Mann also asked the Centre under which criteria the Amritsar airport was chosen to land the second aircraft.
"What is the criterion for choosing Amritsar? The Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs should tell me. Why did you choose Amritsar and not the national capital? You did this to defame Punjab and Punjabis," Mann said.
Noting that deportation is a national issue, Mann said it is being made to appear that only Punjabis migrate illegally.
Many people from Punjab and other states, who entered the US through "donkey routes"—an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter America or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees—are now facing deportation.
Data from the Pew Research Center estimates that approximately 725,000 illegal immigrants from India live in the US, making it the third-largest group of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador.
According to US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP), about 1,700 Indians were apprehended between 2022 and November 2024.
In 2022, 409 were intercepted, 730 in 2023, and 517 in 2024 until November, including 42 minors.
The mass deportations are a key part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration policy, which has focused on stricter enforcement and the removal of undocumented individuals.
