New Jersey: The video of a youngster, purportedly an Indian student, being pinned to the ground by security personnel and then handcuffed at the Newark airport has gone viral on social media.
“I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night- handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy,” Kunal Jain, a social entrepreneur, posted on X along with the video and photographs.
Jain goes on to say that the student was speaking in Haryanvi and trying to impress upon the authorities that he is not mad. However, the officials were trying to make him look that way. From the video, it is clear that the student is under a lot of stress.
“These children get their visas and arrive here in the morning. Once here, they are unable to explain the reason for their visit to the immigration authorities and are sent back by the evening flight, tied up like criminals. Every day 3-4 such cases are happening. The number of such incidents have gone up recently,” Jain has claimed.
He urged the Indian Embassy in the US and external affairs minister S Jaishankar to take up the matter. “Someone needs to find out what’s going on with him at New Jersey authorities. I found him disoriented,” he wrote.
Jain says that he tried to intervene but more officials arrived at the scene, pinned down the youth and handcuffed him.
The US government has intensified its crackdown on international students by revoking visas without prior notice. The cause can range from pro-Palestine statements to past minor offences such as traffic violations.
Reports suggest that nearly 1,500 Indians were deported from the US in 2023-24.
