NEW DELHI — On Thursday, disruptions in India’s Parliament occurred as members of the opposition raised their voices against the reported mistreatment of 104 Indian immigrants recently deported by the United States.
A military aircraft from the U.S. delivered the Indian migrants to a city in northern India on Wednesday; this marked the first of such flights, following a crackdown initiated by the Trump administration. Lawmaker Renuka Chowdhury from the Congress party highlighted the conditions faced by the deportees, stating they were “handcuffed, had their legs chained and even struggled to use the washroom.” Another Congress member, Gaurav Gogoi, described the treatment as “degrading.”
With chants and demands for discussions about the deportation flights echoing through the Parliament, the session had to be adjourned. This incident recalls a controversial deportation flight to Brazil in late January, which drove that nation’s authorities to question the “degrading treatment” experienced by its passengers.
While the United States also shackles immigrants during deportation, such flights to India are infrequent. Reports indicate that last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement managed only three flights to Amritsar, India, as per an advocacy group that specializes in monitoring flight activities.
The use of military planes for deportations, as seen in the cases of Guatemala and Ecuador, represents a shift in procedure from previous practices that typically utilized chartered and commercial flights. Amidst the chaos in Parliament, Speaker Om Birla attempted to address the lawmakers’ concerns by pointing out that the treatment of deportees falls under U.S. foreign policy and noted that the U.S. has its established regulations.
A deportee, Jaspal Singh, recounted how the shackles were only removed upon their arrival at Amritsar Airport. Singh, aged 36, indicated that they believed they were being taken to an additional camp within the U.S. until they learned of their actual deportation during the flight. He mentioned, “The flight lasted 8-9 hours, and an officer informed us that we were being deported” to India.
Members of the opposition, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, also rallied outside Parliament demanding accountability from the government. Some demonstrators donned handcuffs and held cards proclaiming: “Humans, not prisoners.” On social media platform X, Gandhi asserted, “Indians deserve Dignity and Humanity, NOT Handcuffs.” He shared a video of another deportee, Harvinder Singh, who described the humiliating conditions, stating they were shackled for 40 hours and unable to move from their seats, exclaiming, “It was worse than hell.”
Later in the day, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar addressed the upper house of Parliament, explaining that U.S. regulations permitting the use of restraints during deportations have been in place since 2012. He confirmed that U.S. authorities had informed them that women and children were not subjected to these restraints. He reassured Parliament, stating, “There has been no change, I repeat, no change from past procedure for the flight undertaken by the U.S. on Wednesday,” while ensuring that dialogues with U.S. authorities were ongoing to prevent any mistreatment of returnees.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Washington next week, where immigration discussions took place in a recent phone conversation with Trump, who underscored the importance of fair trade relations and India increasing its acquisition of U.S.-made security apparatuses.
A representative of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi articulated that upholding immigration laws is vital for national security and public safety in the U.S. “It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens,” stated Christopher Elms. During the 12 months ending on September 30, more than 14,000 Indian nationals were apprehended for illegally crossing the U.S. border from Canada, accounting for 60% of all arrests at that border, a significant increase over the last two years. In addition, over 25,000 Indians were arrested at the Mexican border during the same timeframe.
Minister Jaishankar further revealed to Parliament that since 2009, 15,668 Indian nationals have been deported to India from the U.S.
