A total of 104 Indian migrants, deported from the United States, landed at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport aboard a US military aircraft. The deportees, including over 20 women and 12 minors, belonged to various states, with Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat accounting for the majority.
According to sources, 30 of the deportees hailed from Punjab, 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. The majority of those deported were young, aged between 20 and 25 years, while only eight were above 40.
Among the illegal migrants from Punjab, six were from Kapurthala, five from Amritsar, four each from Patiala and Jalandhar, two each from Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, and SBS Nagar, and one each from Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, SAS Nagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib.
Upon arrival, the deportees underwent medical checkups and were provided food. Punjab Police officers were present at the airport to verify their documents, and no criminal background was reported among them. Officials from the migrants’ native places also assisted in the verification process.
Following immigration procedures and customs clearance, the deportees were sent to their respective hometowns. Those from Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh were transported by road, while others, including a large number from Gujarat, were flown to their destinations.
Family members of some deportees had gathered at the airport, many of whom shared distressing accounts of the financial hardships they endured to send their relatives to the US. Swaran Singh, a farmer from Rajyetal village in Attari, revealed that he had sold two acres of land and taken a bank loan to finance his son Akashdeep Singh’s migration, spending nearly Rs 36 lakh. With his son’s deportation, he expressed both sorrow over financial losses and relief at his safe return.
As the US military aircraft departed at around 6 pm, the deportees and their families avoided media attention, covering their faces and refraining from making statements.
Meanwhile, Punjab Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who met the deportees at the Air Force station, described the situation as serious. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene on behalf of other Indian migrants facing deportation in the US, emphasizing that many youths invest substantial amounts in the hope of securing a livelihood abroad.
The mass deportation underscores the growing concerns around illegal migration and the challenges faced by Indian youth seeking opportunities overseas.
