2nd US flight carrying 116 deported Indians lands in Punjab’s Amritsar

A special flight from the United States carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants, including 65 from Punjab, landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar late on Saturday night, officials said.

This is the second such batch of Indians to be deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of its promised crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Earlier, there were reports that the C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force would carry 119 immigrants, but now as per an updated list of passengers, the number of deportees in the second batch was 116, they added.

Among the deportees, 65 are from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Most of the deportees are in the age group of 18 to 30, as per the sources.

The families of some of the deportees reached the airport to receive them.

Authorities have made proper security and procedural arrangements at the airport.

Last week, 104 illegal Indian migrants were deported from the US. They were sent in a US military C-17 transport aircraft to Amritsar.

The deportations come in the immediate wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, where he met President Donald Trump to discuss key bilateral issues, including immigration.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann questioned the move to land another plane at the Amritsar airport, as he accused the Centre of trying to defame Punjab as part of a conspiracy.

“The BJP-led Centre always discriminates against Punjab. It does not let go of any chance of defaming the state,” Mann said while addressing the media in Amritsar.

“As part of a conspiracy, they are trying to defame Punjab and Punjabis,” he said.