Key points
- A video showed deportees boarding a military plane in shackles
- Adults, both male and female were chained: NYT
- Indian Parliament blasts Modi over mistreatment of illegal migrants in US
- India is a major source of unauthorised migration to the United States
WASHINGTON: The Indian Parliament was in an uproar on Thursday over reports that migrants who were in the United States (US) illegally were mistreated while being deported on an American military plane, including being shackled during the long intercontinental journey.
Over 100 undocumented immigrants were returned to India on Wednesday. While deportations are nothing new — India is a major source of unauthorized migration to the US — most have relied on commercial flights, according to the New York Times.
The use of a military aircraft, along with the reports of mistreatment, appears to have hit a nerve, creating a political headache for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi days before he is expected to visit US President Donald Trump in Washington, the New York Times reported.
Migrants were shackled for over 40 hours
Modi has described Trump as a “dear friend.” In India, much of the outrage on Thursday was in response to reports in local media, citing accounts of deportees, that they were shackled for more than 40 hours and that their access to toilets was also restricted.
A video put out by US Customs and Border Protection showed the deportees boarding the plane in shackles, the New York Times stated.
The newspaper cited Sukhpal Singh’s father as saying, his son is a 35-year-old chef from the Indian Punjab, who had been arrested upon entering the US through Mexico in January, was among the deportees.
“He told me that he was handcuffed, as were the other adults,” his father, Prempal Singh, said in a telephone interview. “His feet were also shackled.”
“Everyone around him was tied — adults, both male and female were chained,” the New York Times cited Singh as saying.
“Humans, not prisoners”
On Thursday, opposition lawmakers staged a protest in Parliament, some wearing handcuffs and carrying signs that read they demanded to know how many Indians in the United States were facing imminent deportation.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Indian National Congress, said “Why did we not send our own planes to bring back the Indians, with dignity and respect, instead of a military plane landing on our soil?” according to the New York Times.
