119 Indians Deported From US Set To Reach Amritsar This Weekend, Punjab CM Reacts

Around 119 Indians are set to return to Amritsar International Airport this weekend on two separate flights after being deported from the United States. This comes amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to the US for a meeting with President Donald Trump, following Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

One flight is expected to arrive on Saturday (February 15) and the other on Sunday (February 16) at Guru Ram Dass International Airport in Amritsar. The deportees include 67 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and one from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday questioned the likely landing of another plane carrying illegal Indian immigrants from the US at the Amritsar airport as he hit out at the Centre, accusing it of trying to defame Punjab.

The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming Punjab," alleged Mann, while addressing the media in Amritsar.

"Under a conspiracy, they are trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis," he added. Mann said the first US plane carrying illegal Indian immigrants had 33 people from Haryana and Gujarat each and 30 from Punjab.

"Now the second plane (carrying illegal Indian immigrants) is coming. It will also land at Amritsar airport tomorrow. Why? What is the criterion for choosing Amritsar? The centre and 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," said Mann.

"It is a deliberate attempt so that it appears that only Punjabis migrate illegally," Mann said.

Reports indicate that these individuals had entered the US illegally, primarily via the Mexico border and other routes, and had destroyed their passports. This marks the second wave of deportations from the US since Donald Trump assumed the presidency.

First Group

The first group of illegal immigrants which arrived on February 5 at Amritsar had 104 Indians, who arrived handcuffed and their legs chained triggering a nationwide outrage. This prompted India to convey its concerns to the US on the treatment of the deportees after widespread outcry in the country.

Meanwhile addressing the media at the White House, in the US at PM Modi asserted the need to fight against the "ecosystem” of human trafficking that lures people from ordinary families with big dreams and promises and brings them to other countries as illegal immigrants. He said India was fully prepared to take back any verified Indians who were in the US illegally. Modi urged dialogue to eradicate human trafficking, which he blamed for illegal immigration. "Those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there. As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly citizens of India if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back. But it does not stop just there for us. These are people from ordinary families. They are shown big dreams and most of them are misled and brought here, ’’ he said.

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. In 2022, Pew Research Center had estimated that 725,000 unauthorized Indian immigrants living in the US.

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.

With inputs from PTI.