NEW DELHI: The US has started deporting Indians based on President Donald Trump's decision to curb illegal immigration. A C-17 military plane carrying 205 Indians left San Antonio airport in Texas on Monday.
Since most of the passengers are Punjabis, the plane will land in Amritsar. They will be allowed out of the airport only after completing the procedures to verify they are Indian citizens.
India has not officially confirmed their arrival. They were arrested for lack of documents and were being held in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. The US says it deported more than 1,100 illegal Indians between October 2023 and September 2024. A chartered flight with 100 Indians arrived last October; it was the most recent one before this.
The Ministry of External Affairs had stated that all Indians staying in the US without documents will be brought back after confirming their citizenship.
The US Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are about 18,000 illegal immigrants who are Indians. There are indications that the actual number of people could be more than this.