Indians tied up on 40-hour migrant flight: Trump criticized

Indians tied up on 40-hour migrant flight: Trump criticized

In New Delhi, around 100 deported Indian migrants were kept in handcuffs during their 40-hour flight home, even while they had to use the toilet. This is the latest incident to spark international outrage over President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Protests against the treatment of Indian migrants

Indian MPs demonstrated in front of Parliament on Thursday. Some wore handcuffs while others mocked the much-touted friendship between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In another corner of New Delhi, members of the main opposition party's youth wing burned a doll of Trump. The outraged reactions come just ahead of an expected meeting between Modi and Trump at the White House, where Modi had described Trump as a "true friend".

Urgent appeals to the government

S. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, an Indian government minister in the western state of Punjab, where the deportation flight landed, called on Modi to "use his friendship to solve the problem." Dhaliwal also questioned the usefulness of this friendship if it cannot help Indian citizens in need.

The repatriation to India was the longest distance since the Trump administration began using military aircraft to deport migrants, a U.S. official said.

Experiences of deported migrants

“Our hands were tied and our ankles secured with chains before we boarded,” said 23-year-old Akashdeep Singh, who arrived in Punjab on Wednesday with 103 other deportees. “We asked the military officials to remove our handcuffs to eat or go to the bathroom, but they treated us terribly and without any consideration.”

"I will never forget the way they looked at us... We went to the toilet in handcuffs. Shortly before landing, the women's handcuffs were removed. For us, they were only removed by the local police officers after landing."

Public attention to the incidents

US Border Patrol chief Michael W. Banks released a video showing Indian deportations on board a plane. In the video, several men can be seen with handcuffs on their wrists and ankles as they slowly walk up the ramp.

The CNN editorial team has already contacted the Pentagon and US Customs and Border Protection for comment on whether the deportees were held in handcuffs throughout the flight.

Causes of migration

35-year-old deportee Sukhpal Singh reported that the handcuffs remained on throughout the flight, including a refueling stop on the Pacific island of Guam. “They treated us like criminals,” he said. “When we tried to stand up because our legs were swollen because of the handcuffs, they would yell at us to sit down.”

Young Indians in particular looking for work opportunities make up a significant proportion of undocumented migrants in the USA. Many have made the dangerous journey through Latin America to reach the US southern border. They often see no future at home, where a job crisis is smothering the hopes of young people in the world's most populous country.

Increasing numbers of illegal entries

In just four years, the number of Indian citizens who entered the US illegally has increased dramatically — from 8,027 in fiscal year 2018-19 to 96,917 in 2022-23, according to official government data.

Families have told CNN how they sold land to pay the high fees charged by "travel agents" for the risky trip to the United States. “I left to work, for a better life, for a better future,” said Sukhpal Singh, who has both a son and a daughter and hoped to offer them a better life by getting a job in the United States.

“You see it in films and the people around you say that there is work there, that the people there are successful, that's why I wanted to go too.”