Punjab CM Slams Centre Over US Deportation Flights Landing in Amritsar
A third special flight carrying 112 deportees from the United States is set to land at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar late Sunday night, with 31 of them hailing from Punjab, according to official sources. The flight is expected to arrive at around 11:30 PM.
This comes just a day after a US military plane carrying 117 Indian deportees, including 65 from Punjab, landed in Amritsar on Saturday night at 11:32 PM. An earlier deportation flight carrying 104 individuals arrived on February 5.
The latest group of 112 deportees includes:
- 31 from Punjab
- 44 from Haryana
- 33 from Gujarat
- 2 from Uttar Pradesh
- 1 each from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
These removals are part of an ongoing crackdown by US immigration authorities on individuals who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has criticized the Centre for choosing Amritsar as the landing point for these flights, arguing that it creates a false impression that all deportees are from Punjab.
The US-India deportation agreements have led to increased repatriation efforts, with more flights expected in the coming weeks as US immigration authorities continue targeting illegal entrants and visa overstayers.