Recently, a US military aircraft carrying the first batch of 104 illegal Indian immigrants, with the highest number of 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, reached Amritsar in Punjab on 5th February.
A total of 30 deportees were residents of Punjab. The US military C-17 aircraft landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport amid tight security.
This deportation aligns with the U.S. administration’s intensified efforts to enforce immigration laws. A spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi stated, “The United States 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.”
Now, on the orders of US President Donald Trump, the crackdown on illegal immigrants has intensified further. With this, the illegal immigrants are being stuffed into jails.
Illegal immigrants are being kept with other dreaded criminals in 9 federal prisons including Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Kansas. The detention centres of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) have the capacity to hold only 41 thousand people. However, there are about 2 thousand Indians in these centres.
About 1200 illegal immigrants are being arrested every day. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Neom said, “A second group of illegal immigrants has also been caught at the Guantanamo Naval Base. 1,200 illegal immigrants are being caught every day.”
Trump's border czar Tom Homan has ordered police commissioners to identify and arrest illegal immigrants. A police task force has also been formed for this. It will be able to arrest them even from the streets.
ICE is the only one that catches illegal immigrants in America. This will happen after 25 years when the local police have also been given the responsibility to arrest the illegal immigrants. Additionally, the state police are also being trained by the Trump administration.
This training has been started first in Trump-supported Republican states. Trump has given federal orders, so training will be mandatory in Democratic states as well.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the conditions in jails are appalling. Illegal immigrants are not being given food on time. They are being stuffed into the most dilapidated cells of the jail. The bars are removed from the jail only for half an hour in the whole day.