Shattered dreams and 'entire life savings' lost as dozens of Indians deported from US

A US military flight brought back 104 Indians accused of entering the US illegally. Daler Singh's American dream ended almost as soon as it began. After a gruelling six-month journey and a $45,000 investment, the 37-year-old Indian national was deported back to his native Punjab just three weeks after arriving in the United States. Singh was part of a high-profile deportation of 104 Indians on Wednesday, a move fulfilling a key campaign promise of President Donald Trump.

The timing, however, presents a diplomatic challenge for India, a close US ally, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Washington next week. Back in his village of Salempura, Singh recounted the devastating financial and emotional toll of his failed attempt to enter the US. "I have lost my entire life earnings. My dreams are shattered," he said, urging others to avoid the perilous path he took.

To fund his journey, Singh mortgaged family jewellery and land, raising thousands to pay an agent who facilitated his illegal passage. His arduous trek began with a flight to Dubai in early August, where he remained for several months. The final leg involved a days-long trek through Mexico before finally reaching US soil. US authorities detained him on 15 January and then moved him and others onto a C-17 Globemaster aircraft this week for the journey back home.

In a social media post, US Border Patrol (USBP) chief Michael W. Banks posted a video showing some men being led into a military plane in handcuffs and legs in chains. "USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport," Banks said on X. "This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals. If you cross illegally, you will be removed.".

The return of the Indians, aged from 4 to 46, and including 25 females, has given the country's opposition parties a chance to hit back at the government of Modi, who has spoken about boosting ties with the United States. The deportees were from five Indian states, including Modi's home state of Gujarat, and the federal territory of Chandigarh. "Our hands and legs were cuffed throughout," said Singh, looking tired after the long journey as reporters fired questions at him, his wife and two children milling around in the courtyard of their one-storey house by a wheat field.

"They did not unlock our cuffs even when we ate.". India's foreign minister, S Jaishankar, told parliament that it was standard practice for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities to restrain deportees but that it was not done with the women and children on the plane to India. "We are, of course, engaging with the U.S. government to ensure that returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight," he said.

"At the same time, the House will appreciate that our focus should be on the crackdown, strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry, while taking steps to ease visas for the legitimate traveller.". He said Indian law enforcement agencies would act against agents who organise such immigration based on information from the returnees. Jaishankar said that in the past 16 years, more than 15,000 Indians had been deported to India from the U.S.

One of them was Akashdeep Singh, 23, who reached the US only last month having failed to secure a job in India. His farming family sold two tractors and some land and took loans to raise more than 6 million rupees for his illegal trip. "Why would we send our children outside? There are no jobs here," Singh's father Swaran Singh said. "We demand jobs for our children, so we never have to send them away.".