Amritsar: A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport here on Wednesday afternoon, sources said.
While 30 of the deportees are from Punjab, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, the sources said.
An official confirmation on the number of deportees is awaited.
Earlier reports claimed that US military plane C-17 was bringing back 205 illegal immigrants.
The flight landed at 1.55 pm. There was heavy barricading outside the airport and police personnel were deployed in large numbers.
This is the first batch of illegal Indian immigrants to have been deported by the US government.
According to the sources, the deportees are expected to be allowed to go home following verification and background checks.
Police will focus on identifying any deportee with a criminal record, the sources said.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday that the state government would receive the immigrants and set up counters at the airport.
Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the US government’s decision and said these individuals, who contributed to that country’s economy, should have been granted permanent residency instead of being deported.
He said many Indians entered the US on work permits which later expired, making them illegal immigrants.
The minister said he plans to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar next week to discuss the concerns and interests of Punjabis living in the US.
Dhaliwal had also appealed to Punjabis not to travel abroad through illegal means, emphasising the importance of acquiring skills and education to access opportunities worldwide.
He encouraged people to research legal ways and acquire education and language skills before travelling abroad.
After Donald Trump assumed office as the US President last month, the country’s law enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
Many people from Punjab, who entered the US through “donkey routes” or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.
