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. More deportees are expected to arrive in India in the coming days.
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.
On Sunday, deportees reached Delhi at around 2:30 pm and were sent to their respective destinations. The four Punjab-based deportees hailing from Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Batala and Patiala districts reached Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport, Amritsar via an Indigo flight on Sunday evening.
While deportees on the previous three flights were transported on a US military plane in handcuffs, this time they were flown in on commercial flights. Nearly all the deportees who have arrived home so far are mainly from Punjab, Gujarat, or Haryana, with a few from other states.
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. The influx of undocumented immigrants in the US was one of the major polls 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.
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 International Organisation of Migration (IOM), which is part of the UN system.
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.
