A United States military plane carrying illegal Indian immigrants landed in India’s northern city of Amritsar on Wednesday, as reported by a Reuters witness, deporting these individuals as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
Some local media outlets reported that the flight brought back 205 people, while others cited 104 individuals, most of whom were from the northern state of Punjab, where Amritsar is located, and the western state of Gujarat.
The Trump administration has increasingly turned to military aircraft to help execute its immigration agenda, using these planes to deport migrants and opening military bases to house them.
Although illegal Indian immigrants have been deported by previous US administrations, this is the first time that Washington has used a military aircraft for the purpose. It is also the farthest destination for such flights involving military aircraft.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the C-17 aircraft with migrants on board had departed for India but would not arrive for at least 24 hours. The flight did not appear on public flight trackers, but local news TV channels showed the aircraft taxiing after it landed in Amritsar.
Migration has been a key issue between India and the US since Trump took office last month, and it is expected to be discussed during Trump’s upcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely to take place in Washington next week.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also emphasized the Trump administration’s desire to collaborate with India on addressing “concerns related to irregular migration” when he met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last month.
New Delhi has since stated that it will take back such illegal immigrants after verifying their details.
The US is India’s largest trading partner, and the two countries are strengthening strategic ties as they look to counter China.
India is also eager to work with the US to make it easier for its citizens to obtain skilled workers visas.
The Pentagon has announced plans to deport over 5,000 migrants currently held by US authorities, and Reuters reported last week that a flight to Guatemala used for this purpose likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant.
