India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – A US aircraft carrying 119 Indian nationals is scheduled to land at Amritsar airport on February 15, making it the second batch of deportees sent back under the Donald Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.

Another flight carrying more deportees is expected on February 16.

This follows the February 5 deportation of 104 Indian immigrants, also to Amritsar. Many deportees had used unauthorized routes, often paying large sums to reach the US, but were detained and subsequently repatriated.

The Punjab government has raised concerns over the deportations, with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema questioning why flights primarily land in Amritsar rather than other states. He alleged that the decision to land deportation flights in Amritsar is an attempt by the NDA-led Centre to defame the state. “Why not Haryana or Gujarat? This is clearly an attempt by the BJP to tarnish Punjab’s image. This aircraft should land in Ahmedabad instead,” he told India Today.

The deportation process has also drawn political criticism, particularly over reports that deportees were handcuffed and restrained during the flight. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, questioned whether External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the deportation. He also asked if the government protested the US policy of restraining deportees and whether an Indian aircraft was considered for their return.