A U.S. military plane transporting undocumented Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar, a city in northern India, on Wednesday, according to a Reuters witness.
The flight was part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, deporting an unspecified number of individuals.
Local media reports varied on the number of deported individuals, with some stating 205 and others reporting 104. Most of those deported were said to be from Punjab, where Amritsar is located, and Gujarat, a western state.
The Trump administration has increasingly utilized the military to support its immigration policies, employing military aircraft for deportations and opening military bases for housing migrants.
While previous U.S. administrations have deported undocumented Indian immigrants, this was the first instance of a military aircraft being used for such a purpose. Additionally, it marked the farthest destination reached by a military flight for deportation.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the C-17 aircraft carrying the migrants had departed for India, but it was expected to arrive within 24 hours. The flight was not tracked on public flight trackers, but local news channels showed the aircraft taxiing upon its arrival in Amritsar.
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Migration has been among the key issues discussed by India and the U.S. since Trump took charge last month and is also expected to come up during Trump’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely to take place in Washington next week.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also ’emphasised’ the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to address “concerns related to irregular migration” when he met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last month.
New Delhi has since said it will take back such illegal immigrants after verifying their details.
The U.S. is India’s largest trading partner and the two countries are forging deeper strategic ties as they look to counter China.
India is also keen to work with the U.S. to make it easier for its citizens to get skilled workers visas.
The Pentagon has said it plans to deport more than 5,000 migrants held by U.S. authorities, and Reuters reported last week that a flight to Guatemala used for the purpose likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant.
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