Jalandhar: Amidst an ongoing crackdown against illegal immigrants, two tragic truck accidents involving young Sikh youths and incidents of cargo thefts, the United States government has deported 54 Indian youths, including women, on a New York-Delhi civilian flight. They were all in handcuffs when they returned.

They had reached the US via using a dunki route – a slang used to define an illegal journey through land, sea and air routes.

The deportees – a majority of whom are from Haryana, followed by Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa – reached home on October 26, after a team of Karnal police, Haryana, picked them up from Indira Gandhi International Airport in the capital. 

The youths from Haryana were brought to Karnal, where they were handed over to their parents.

Karnal deputy superintendent of police (headquarter) Sandeep Kumar said, “A total of 50 youths from Haryana were deported from the US. We have no information about the total number of youths deported from the US.”

The deportees were either arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials while they were at work in the US or were detained in the detention centres. 

Several of them remained in detention facilities for nearly eight to 11 months before being finally deported in this batch.

One of the poll promises during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the US deportation drive started in February this year, when the first US Army aircraft carrying 104 Indians, including women and children, landed in Delhi.

In September, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had informed that 2,417 Indian nationals had been deported from the US since January.  

Earlier in March this year, Union minister of external affairs S. Jaishankar in a reply in Rajya Sabha had also shared that from 2009 to 2024, a total of 15,564 people had been deported from the US.

The Union government had registered strong objections with the US for handcuffing the women and children too. 

However, months later, another batch of Indian nationals were deported by the US government in shackles.

Stories of long detention, debt and distress

Nearly all the youths deported in the latest batch share the same story of dunki routes, debt and distress – just like the earlier deportees.

Among them was Husan (21), from Popra village of Karnal district of Haryana, who remained in the detention centre for 11 months before being deported on October 26, 2025.

Husan’s uncle, Surender Singh, told The Wire that he has no idea how Husan got in touch with travel agents and opted for a dunki route. 

“All we know is that he was excited to leave for the US via the dunki route, but we never knew he would come back in shackles,” he said.

On being asked how they learned about Husan’s deportation, Singh said, “Husan called us from the detention centre in the US and informed us that he was being deported. Later, Haryana police brought all the youths together to Karnal district from where we picked him up.”

He said that Husan, a class 12 pass out, left for the US around 15 months ago. 

“Imagine the hardships that he faced. Out of 15 months, he spent 11 months in a detention centre. That was his journey to the US for which we sold 1.5 acres of our agricultural land and arranged Rs 45 lakh somehow. We’ve lost everything in one go,” he said.

Helpless, he also lamented at the mass exodus of the village youths to the US in the past some years. 

“Hamare gao mai koi ladka yaha nahi hai, sab US chale gaye. Ye bhi chala gaya. (There are no youths who are staying in the village anymore. Everybody left for the US, he also went),” he said.

“Husan also got influenced by the success of fellow youths who went to the US and were doing well there. He got in touch with the agents and planned his journey,” he added.

Another Haryana-based youth Jashandeep Singh was arrested by ICE agents while at work.

Talking to The Wire, Jashandeep (20), a resident of Bansa village in Karnal, said that he was arrested by the ICE agents in Florida while he was working at a food delivery service. He was arrested two months ago and was deported along with 53 others.

“The moment I was arrested by the ICE agents, I knew that my time in the US was over. After remaining in the detention center for two months, I was deported,” he said, adding that the civilian flight in which he returned had more than 250 other passengers too.

Interestingly, Jashandeep, a class 7 graduate, was 16 years old when he went to the US via the dunki route and used to stay in Indiana. His cousins, who are also settled in the US, were a big support for him abroad.

In 2021, when Jashandeep went to the US via a dunki route, he spent Rs 55 lakh for which his parents sold their agricultural land. For his travel, Jashandeep first took a flight from Delhi and reached Amsterdam, then reached Mexico also via air. 

“From Mexico, I walked and crossed the US border,” he said.  

Talking about the current scenario vis a vis illegal immigrants, he said that those youths who reached the US in the past two years were more under scanner.

“Almost every week, we come across reports of youths getting detained by the ICE agents and many getting caught. Indian and Mexican nationals are more under attack,” he shared.

Asked if he would like to move abroad again, Jashandeep said that he earned well during his stay in the US. “But I lost my father while I was in the US and could not even come home for his cremation. I am left with my mother and sister and want to spend my life with them,” he said.

Similarly, Naresh Kumar, a resident of Taragarh village in Haryana’s Kaithal district, also reached home after spending 14 months in a detention centre. 

Like many others, Naresh’s family also sold one acre of agricultural land and paid a whopping amount of Rs 57.5 lakh to avail the dunki route.

“Initially, the agent demanded Rs 42 lakh but then started demanding more money. We took some money on interest, while my brother also sold his land for Rs 6.5 lakh to seal the deal,” he said.

Talking to The Wire, superintendent of police, Kaithal district, Upasana said that among the 54 deportees, at least 16 were from Karnal district, while the second highest number of 14 deportees were from Kaithal.

“We are yet to receive formal complaints from the victim families and would initiate action accordingly. When the youths reached home on October 26, we held their counselling and motivated them to approach the police with their respective cases,” she said.

A fugitive among deportees

Among the deportees was also a wanted fugitive, Lakhvinder Kumar, a member of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who was arrested by the Haryana police the moment he landed at Delhi airport.

He is booked in multiple cases of attempt to murder, extortion, intimidation, illegal possession and use of firearms, among others.

Recent truck accidents in the US

The latest deportation has taken place following two truck accidents, which claimed the lives of Sikh truck drivers. Both the accidents hit international headlines.

Last week, on October 22, a Gurdaspur-based youth, Jashanpreet Singh (21) had rammed his truck into other vehicles in Southern California, leaving three dead and several injured, while also hitting other vehicles on the highway. 

The video of the accident was recorded on the dashcam and was circulated on social media.

Earlier, on August 12, a Tarn Taran district resident, Harjinder Singh (28), had allegedly made an illegal U-turn in his tractor trailer in Florida that left three people dead. Harjinder is currently lodged in jail in the US.

Also Read: Ahead of US Hearing, Jailed Punjab Trucker's Family in Shock, Community Alarmed at Visa Policy Change

Following the August accident, US secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced an immediate ban on worker visas for commercial truck drivers. The demand for mandatory English proficiency for truck drivers was also raised by the US authorities.

Jashanpreet’s father Ravinder Singh told The Wire that allegations of his son being under the influence of drugs were baseless as he was a baptised Sikh.

“I am also a baptised Sikh and work as a school bus driver. Jashanpreet never consumed drugs. In fact, after Harjinder’s case, we kept telling him to be very careful while driving but this tragedy took place. 

“He did not ram the truck deliberately, it was an accident. We are in acute shock and feel sorry for the victims who lost their lives,” he said.

Ravinder Singh has appealed to US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and have mercy on his son. 

“We are looking for a lawyer to fight our son’s case. Timely intervention of the US and the Indian government might help save my son from punishment,” he said.  

Recent cargo thefts among triggers

A Sacramento-based trucking company owner, who requested anonymity, told The Wire that there were many triggers behind the recent spate of deportations.

“Throughout this year, the Trump government has been deporting people. However, in the past few months, major cargo thefts have also come to the fore, which was shockingly being led by Punjabi migrants,” he said.

“On October 25, the US police arrested 11 Indian origin men for a cargo theft which was going on for four years. The gang was fraudulently using real trucking companies to bid for shipping contracts and then diverted the cargo and stole it. They have been earning millions.

“A similar cargo theft took place earlier too. While accidents can take place any time, such thefts and acts of crime were acting as major triggers behind racism against Indians. It is disheartening to hear stories of crimes and that of deportations but some people violate laws with impunity and put the entire community at risk,” he added.

‘Agnipath scheme prompted Haryana youths to leave for the US’

A farmer leader also termed Agnipath scheme of the Union government as a major prompt, pushing more youths to go abroad, by hook or by crook.

Post Covid-19 pandemic, when the regular army recruitment was replaced with the Agnipath scheme, many youths felt depressed and started opting for dunki routes to go abroad, says Haryana-based BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh) spokesperson Tejveer Singh Ambala. 

“This trend especially picked up in Haryana post-Covid. It was obvious for the youth to feel astray when there was no scope left in the Army,” he said.

Ambala said that earlier, a job in the Army ensured security in terms of high salary, pension, CSD canteen facility, free treatment at Army hospitals and ex-gratia in case of war casualty. “However, all this is missing under the Agnipath scheme. With no security and perks, it was obvious for the youth to feel depressed and the dunki way picked pace.”

“It is high time, the Modi government seriously reconsider this policy and begin regular Army recruitment,” he said.

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