Fact-check: Were illegal Indian immigrants deported from US handcuffed on flight?

A United States military aircraft carrying illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon.

This was the
first deportation to India during the second term of US President Donald Trump.

However, all eyes were drawn to a picture of the deported immigrants being handcuffed and having their legs chained while the US deported them.

But what’s the truth behind the viral photo? Let’s take a closer look.

The US Air Force aircraft carrying 104 deported Indians took off from San Antonio, Texas, and landed at Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Punjab’s Amritsar on Wednesday.

Pictures of people sitting in handcuffs started making the rounds on social media as word spread about the deportation.

In one image, men are shown wearing handcuffs, their faces hidden by face masks, and chains around their ankles. Another depicts a line of men with their hands bound behind their backs as they walk.

Social media users were outraged by the images.

“Handcuffed and chained by the legs, Indians are returning to Amrit Kaal. I have never seen this sight ever!” read one post on X.

Another netizen wrote, “Indians clearly are treated here like prisoners while they are not only handcuffed but also leg cuffed while they are being deported from USA by Trump.”

Referring to the viral picture, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “Looking at the pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated while being deported from the US saddens me as an Indian.”

The chairman of the Congress party’s media on X wrote, “I remember in December of 2013, an Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, was handcuffed and strip-searched in America.”

“Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh registered a strong protest with US Ambassador Nancy Powell. The UPA govt retaliated sharply. Leaders like Meira Kumar, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Rahul Gandhi refused to meet the US Congressional delegation (George Holding, Pete Olson, David Schweikert, Rob Woodall, and Madeleine Bordallo) that was visiting India at that time,” he added.

“Dr Manmohan Singh termed the US action ‘deplorable’. Govt of India withdrew several perks given to the US embassy, including imports of food and alcohol at concessional rates by embassy staff,” Khera said.

Another Congress leader Prithviraj Sathe also tweeted the photo and wrote, “Over 200 Indians deported from the US in the most inhumane way—handcuffed, leg-chained, treated like criminals. One toilet for a long-haul flight!”

Further tagging External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, he asked, “Couldn’t Modi government at least arrange dignified transport for its own citizens? Global ‘Vishwaguru’ or global shame?”

The grand old party’s Gaurav Gogoi also protested against “the manner in which the United States government has sent Indians back to our country.”

“The way they are being chained is demeaning and dehumanising. I cannot understand why Prime Minister Modi is silent on the way Indians are being treated by the Trump administration,” Gogoi said in a post on X_._

The image being posted on social media is fake, the government has claimed. After fact-checking the widely shared photo, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) claimed that the picture doesn’t pertain to Indians.

Rather, the images depict migrants who were sent to Guatemala on January 30 after being deported from the US.

The image was first published by the news agency Associated Press on February 1 with the caption saying, “US Air Force jet with migrants bound at their wrists and ankles departed Texas for Guatemala on Thursday, carrying 80 deportees in another deportation flight that reflects a growing role for the armed forces in helping enforce immigration laws.”

Reuters reported that the C-17 aircraft carrying 104 Indian nationals departed from San Antonio, Texas and landed in Amritsar on Wednesday.

Punjab police said 33 immigrants each were from Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, and the northern state of Haryana, while 30 were from Punjab.

They underwent hours of scrutiny at the airport before police escorted them out in small groups in police vehicles.

Soon after the deportation, the US Customs and Border Protection (USBP) released a video that shows “illegal immigrants” handcuffed and chained at the ankles.

Sharing the video, USBP Chief Michael W Banks said, “USBP and partners successfully returned illegal aliens to India, marking the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport. This mission underscores our commitment to enforcing immigration laws and ensuring swift removals. If you cross illegally, you will be removed.”

Since Donald Trump took office again, this is the first group of illegal immigrants from India to be deported.

Although previous US administrations have deported illegal Indian immigrants, it is the
first time Washington has used a military aircraft for the purpose. It is also the farthest destination so far for such flights using a military aircraft.

According to The Indian Express, a US embassy spokesperson in Delhi earlier on Tuesday said, “The US is vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants. These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk.”

As per the report, as of November 2024, 20,407 “undocumented” Indians were either in detention facilities run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or facing “final removal orders.”

Meanwhile, hours after the deportation, US President Trump has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House next week, a White House official said.