‘No women, children restrained’: US responds to India’s concerns of mistreatment of deportees

The United States have responded to concerns regarding the treatment of Indians deported from the US in three military flights last month, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told Rajya Sabha on Thursday (Mar 27).

After the three flights carrying hundreds of illegal immigrants from India, reports claimed that Sikh deportees were asked to remove their turbans, while women and children were shackled on the flight. Following this, the central government condemned such claims and raised concerns with the US authorities for clarification.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

“The Ministry has strongly registered its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on the flight that landed on February 5th, particularly with respect to use of shackles, especially on women. The US side has confirmed that no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on February 15th and 16th, respectively,” Singh told the house.

The minister added that US authorities have clarified New Delhi’s concerns, saying that no deportee was asked to remove religious head coverings, adding that only accommodation requested during the flight was vegetarian food.

“In response, the US authorities have conveyed that deportees on the three chartered flights that arrived on 5th, 15th and 16th February 2025 respectively were not instructed to remove any religious head coverings and that the deportees did not request any religious accommodation during the flights, aside from requesting for vegetarian meals,” she said.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also said that some of the detainees had “arrived at the US border without turbans”.

Indians deported in three military flights

After US President Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, his administration has been on an immigration crackdown. The US has deported hundreds of illegal immigrants from India along with those from other nations since then.

The Indian illegal migrants were deported in three separate military flights that landed in Punjab's Amritsar last month. Some deportees had accused the Trump administration of mistreatment, raising concerns.

(With inputs from agencies)