New Delhi: Amid the Opposition creating a furore in Parliament over the alleged inhuman manner in which illegal Indian migrants were deported from the US, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that the use of restraints was part of America’s standard operating procedure (SOP).
“The deportation by the US are organised and executed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) authority. The SOP of deportation by aircraft used by ICE which is effective from 2012 provides for the use of restraint. We have been informed by ICE that women and children are not restrained,” the minister said.
“We are engaging the US govt to ensure that the deportees not be mistreated in any manner. At the same time, the House will appreciate that our focus should be on the strong crackdown against the illegal immigration industry. On the basis of information provided by the deportees, law enforcement agencies will take necessary, preventive and exemplary action against the agents and such agencies,” the minister told Rajya Sabha.
Several opposition MPs protested in the Parliament premises by wearing ‘handcuffs.’
Earlier, reports claiming that the Indian deportees were handcuffed and their feet tied with chains throughout the journey surfaced. Jaishankar further assured the opposition that India was engaging the Donald Trump administration to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated.
Straight To Prime Minister
Mr. Prime Minister
– Surely the Indians returning from #America are not Criminals in India !– So who gave America the Right to Handcuff all these Indians in India’s Air Space ?
Time has come for India to show this lunatic #Trump his place.… pic.twitter.com/noNOoQJ7ZX
— তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) February 6, 2025
The opposition MPs had demanded a discussion on the deportation of 104 Indian nationals. In the Lok Sabha, opposition MPs shouted slogans and protested in the well of the House. They continued the protest even as Speaker Om Birla appealed to them not to resort to “planned disruptions”.
“Your matter is with the government. This is the matter of the Ministry of External Affairs. This subject is related to another country. The government has taken cognisance of it,” Om Birla said. The Speaker then adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Earlier, Congress MP KC Venugopal moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss the issue. In the Rajya Sabha, MPs from the Congress, CPI, TMC, AAP and CPM united to raise the issue. They questioned the government’s silence.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor dubbed the Trump administration’s alleged move to deport the Indian nationals in “handcuffs” as an insult to India. On Wednesday, a US Air Force aircraft carrying 104 Indian nationals landed in Amritsar amid Trump’s intensified crackdown against illegal immigration. Some of the deportees, in an interview to the India Today, said they were unshackled only after landing in Amritsar.
Were deportees handcuffed? Here’s a govt fact-check:
After videos and photos, allegedly of Indian deportees, being handcuffed went viral on social media, the Press Information Bureau took to X and claimed that such photos were fake. “A Fake image is being shared on social media by many accounts with a claim that illegal Indian migrants have been handcuffed and their legs chained while being deported by the US. PIB Fact Check: The image being shared in these posts does not pertain to Indians. Instead, it shows those deported to Guatemala,” PIB fact check said.
A #Fake image is being shared on social media by many accounts with a claim that illegal Indian migrants have been handcuffed and their legs chained while being deported by US#PIBFactCheck
▶️ The image being shared in these posts does not pertain to Indians. Instead it shows… pic.twitter.com/9bD9eYkjVO
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) February 5, 2025
