Jalandhar: A week after the last flight, another group of 12 Indians arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on Sunday (February 23) from Panama, a Latin American country, where they were detained after being deported from the US on a Turkish Airlines commercial flight. The group had electronic tags attached to their legs.
Speaking to The Wire, Jugraj Singh from Chaudharpur village, Gurdaspur shared that though they were not handcuffed and shackled like previous deportees who were sent in US military planes, the deportees who reached India on Sunday had ‘electronic devices’ (perhaps radio tags) tied to their legs, which were removed only after they reached Amritsar.
“The electronic devices carried details about our hotel name i.e. Decapolis, Panama and hotel room number and our personal information. Our passports and mobiles were already seized by the travel agents before we entered the US,” he said.
This is the fourth flight of Indians deported from the US. Out of the 12 Indians who were deported this time – five were from Haryana, four from Punjab and two from Uttar Pradesh. After reaching Delhi at around 2:30 pm, they were sent to their respective destinations. The four Punjab-based deportees hailing from Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Batala and Patiala reached Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar via an Indigo flight on Sunday evening.
Recalling the torture at Tijuana camp on the US-Mexico border, Jugraj mentioned that the US officials made them sit on the floor for hours in extreme cold.
“They would send us to take bath late at night and did not allow us to wear jackets. We were allowed to wear just a T-shirt and a lower, which was a nightmare in those conditions. When we would come back to our rooms, they would switch on the air conditioners and whenever we asked them to provide something to cover ourselves, they would give us thin silver sheets, which were difficult to use as they were thin and would reflect light on our eyes,” he said.
Notably, Jugraj started his US journey via the dunki route on August 28 last year and entered the US on February 2.
“My agent made us stay in Columbia for four months. During this time, I kept telling my agent that Donald Trump was likely to act strictly against illegal immigrants, hence he should move us fast but he did not listen. Despite promises that I would be reaching the US via legal route, my agent sent me via Suriname, a Caribbean country to Mexico,” he said.
Underlining the nexus between agents and immigration officials, Jugraj pointed out that they were shocked to see the immigration staff at Suriname coming to their hotels to hand over their boarding passes. “Our agent made a single call and the airport staff was on their toes to hand over our boarding passes, which is not the case in regular flights.”
He explained that when they reached Suriname airport, the immigration staff there had their details prior to their landing and provided them with all the information for their journey ahead. Further, nobody at the airport doubted their credentials and they were given a go ahead within seconds.
Before entering the US this February, the agent asked Jugraj to pay an additional amount of Rs 7 lakh, which his family handed over to a person in Haryana. “Initially, I spent Rs 38 lakh for the US dunki but had to pay another Rs 7 lakh to enter the US,” he said, adding that they reached out to the travel agent who has assured them that the money will be returned. “However, if they refuse, we will lodge a police complaint.”
“Punjab government should check the licenses of all travel agents and act strictly to stop this menace,” he added.
This is not the first time Jugraj went abroad. He worked as a truck driver in Saudi Arabia from 2014 to 2020.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US, Jugraj said that it would have been better had he spoken for them. “While countries like Columbia and Mexico dared to raise voice against the US, the Indian government’s silence mounted our troubles,” he said.
However, the only saving grace was that they were not brought home in handcuffs and shackles. The mistreatment of deportees on the last three US military aircraft had led to widespread outrage, with opposition and civil rights groups questioning the Union government’s role. The first flight had landed on February 5, second one on February 15 and the third on February 16 – all in Amritsar, Punjab.
Till now, a total of 344 Indians have been deported by US President Donald Trump’s administration – most of them are from Punjab, Gujarat, or Haryana, with a few from other states. The influx of undocumented immigrants in the US was one of the major poll promises of Trump, which he had been addressing since day one of his second term in office. Apart from Panama, the Trump administration has sent deportees’ flights to Costa Rica and Guatemala too.
Jugraj informed that another group of undocumented migrants were likely to reach India in another commercial flight on February 25. “The fifth group of deportees will have individuals from Haryana and Punjab including two women from Jalandhar.”
Jalandhar-based youth entered US via Spain:
Speaking to The Wire, Rakesh Kumar, the sarpanch of Chandpur village in Jalandhar said that as per information provided by Maninder Dutt’s (25) family, he left for the US around six months ago. Like many others, Maninder’s family also sent him to the US via the dunki route through Spain on a Schengen visa and paid Rs 42 lakh to the agent for the same.
Kumar, who met Maninder’s father Balbir Ram on Monday morning told The Wire that he entered the US around ten days ago but was arrested and sent to Panama, as per US government’s latest deal on sending back the deportees. As Maninder’s elder brother was also in the US, he too decided to move there, he said.
Kumar, also shared that at the Panama hotel, where all the 299 deportees were kept, Maninder did not face any major problem. “As per his family, all the deportees were safe at the hotel and were being sent back to India,” he added.
Also read: ‘Handcuffed, Legs Chained, 40-Hour Long Ordeal’: Indians Deported on US Military Plane
The sarpanch informed that the family was not aware about their son’s deportation till he called up minutes before his flight took off from Panama. “The officials who came to drop him at the airport made him speak to his parents and that is how they learnt about his deportation. Maninder reached Turkey from Panama and from there he was flown to Delhi. And from Delhi, he reached Amritsar,” he said.
Meanwhile, when The Wire contacted Balbir Ram, Maninder’s father, on Sunday night, he shared that his son was yet to reach home and hence could not share anything about his deportation.
However, when asked about further details, Balbir Ram requested privacy from the media stating that his son was not in a good condition. Maninder reached home at around 1 am on Monday.
Deportees came through Assisted Voluntary Return Programme (AVRP) of International Organisation of Migration
Notably, the deportees who reached home on Sunday came through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme (AVRP) of (IOM), which is part of the UN system.
Jugraj said that the IOM provided them with everything from basic amenities, food, medicine, and travel guidance before deporting them to India.
The Regional AVRP is an IOM protection and support response designed to facilitate the dignified, safe, regular, and orderly return of migrants to their countries of origin. This return is voluntary and based on an informed decision. The IOM, established in 1951, is an inter-governmental organisation that promotes humane and orderly migration. With 175 member states and a presence in 171 countries, the IOM plays a crucial role in global migration governance.
The IOM Regional Office for the Americas was established in 2024 and is based in Panama. Previously, it operated as two independent units, the Regional Office for South America and the Regional Office for Central America, North America, and the Caribbean.
Also read: The Tortuous Routes Some Indians Are Taking to Get to Foreign Shores
Throughout the region, the IOM offers a comprehensive response to humanitarian needs, providing protection and assistance to migrants in each country. Additionally, the IOM addresses and monitors displacement and migration resulting from environmental factors and climate change.
Under the AVRP, eligible migrants include those stranded without resources (economic or logistical) or support networks, regardless of their migration status. This also includes individuals who want to return to their country but are unable to do so by their own means. Additionally, migrants with particular health needs, those belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community, elderly people, or single-parent families, are eligible.
Other eligible groups include people seeking refugee status who have abandoned their processes, as well as those in vulnerable conditions, such as victims of human trafficking or smuggled migrants. Unaccompanied or separated migrant children and adolescents, and those facing violence, exploitation, and abuse, are also eligible under this initiative.
As per reports, the deportees from India, Iran, Afghanistan and some other Asian countries were kept at Decapolis hotel in Panama, which was heavily guarded by the local police.
“At Panama, whenever we went out for lunch or dinner, the security staff came along fearing that some of the deportees might attempt suicide. There were some deportees from China who attempted suicide and were not willing to return home. Some Indians were also not ready to return home but the UN authorities told them that in case they stayed back, they would have to apply for political asylum from Panama, which would further leave them stuck here. They suggested that it was a better idea to move to our home countries than to stay in Panama,” Jugraj said.
This story was first published at 2.51 pm on February 24, 2025. It is updated with further details at 9.35 pm on the same day.
