'Illegal alien deportation flight': White House posts video of immigrants in shackles

In India, several deportees shared their agonising experiences, stating that they were subjected to physical restraints—both handcuffs and leg chains—throughout their flight from the US back to India, only being unshackled after arrival in Amritsar.

This experience, which they described as traumatic, has raised concerns about the treatment of deportees and the ethics behind such visual representation.

Amid the backlash, the White House on Tuesday posted a video showing immigrants in shackles, preparing to board a deportation flight from Seattle in the United States.

ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight 🔊 pic.twitter.com/O6L1iYt9b4

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 18, 2025

The 41-second video, posted on X, shows a man putting on handcuffs and chains on some immigrants. It also shows a close-up of a man having his handcuffs linked together, a man's feet in chains as he walks up a stairway to a plane, and a man about to board the aircraft. The video did not show the faces of any of the men.

The White House captioned the video "ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight."

✈️REMOVAL FLIGHT✈️

A group of undocumented aliens are flown from Seattle as part of a process to finalize return to their home countries.

For more info on ICE Air, visit https://t.co/dshkGbtHZe. pic.twitter.com/VD0GwSp8jO

— ICE Seattle (@EROSeattle) February 18, 2025

Before the White House, the video was shared by the Seattle office of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which captioned it "Removal Flight" and wrote, "A group of undocumented aliens are flown from Seattle as part of a process to finalise return to their home countries."

Also , Elon Musk reposted to the White House tweet, writing, “Haha Wow"

Haha wow 🧌🏅 https://t.co/PXFXpiGU0U

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2025

The video has sparked a debate over the responsibilities of governments in handling such sensitive matters and has being widely criticised.