External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that “the standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints,” raising the possibility that Indian immigrants deported from the US in a military aircraft were ‘handcuffed’ and ‘chained’.
However, this statement potentially contradicted a government denial of any such incidents. “The claim that Indian migrants were deported with hands and legs cuffed with chains is FAKE”, the PIB statement read.
What Did Jaishankar Say in Rajya Sabha?
Jaishankar on Thursday said that the Indian government is engaging with the US to ensure that deported Indians are not mistreated. The minister’s statement in the Rajya Sabha came amid opposition protests over the treatment meted out to 104 Indians who were deported from the United States on Wednesday.
Jaishankar also stated that the process of deportation is “not a new one”.
“The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints. However, we have been informed that women and children are not restrained,” he said.
“Further need of deportees during transit related to food and other necessities, including possible medical emergencies, are attended to. During toilet breaks, deportees are temporarily unrestrained if needed. This is applicable to chartered civilian aircraft as well as military aircraft,” he said, much in contradiction to what the deportees narrated.
“There has been no change from past procedures for the flight undertaken by the US on Feb 5, 2025,” he added.
An illegal immigrant, Harvinder Singh, who was deported and sent back to India by the US on Wednesday, told the Indian Express in an interview, “On February 2, they took us out of our rooms and handcuffed us and also put shackles on our feet.”
He said, “They took us to the airport, put us on a flight and informed us that we were being taken to India. We stopped at two places before being taken to Amritsar. The journey took us 40 hours. For 40 hours, we were handcuffed, our feet tied with chains, and we were not allowed to move an inch from our seat.”
Harvinder Singh narrated, “Only after repeated requests were we allowed to go to the bathroom, and someone accompanied us there as well.”
US Shares Video Of ‘Chained’ Illegal Indians
US Border Patrol shared a video of the deportation process that featured chained Indians making their way into the military aircraft.
“USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. If you cross illegally, you will be removed,” US Border Patrol posted on X on February 5.
What did PIB Fact-Check?
Amid Opposition uproar alleging mistreatment of Indian immigrants who are being deported, the PM Modi Government’s Press Information Bureau issued a fact check on Wednesday stating, “A Fake image is being shared on social media by many accounts with a claim that illegal Indian migrants have been handcuffed and their legs chained while being deported by US.”
104 Illegal Indian Immigrants Deported
On Wednesday, illegal Indian deportees were sent to Amritsar in the C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force. The 104 deportees included 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
The deportations come amid increasing US immigration enforcement measures, primarily targeting individuals who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas.
