Twelve Indians Return to Delhi After Deportation from U.S. through Panama

A dozen Indian nationals, who were deported from the United States to Panama, landed in New Delhi on Sunday. This is the first time that Indians have been returning from Panama after being deported by U.S. authorities. The passengers arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight via Istanbul.

Of the deportees, four are from Punjab: Jatinder Singh from Patiala, Maninder Dutt from Jalandhar, and Jugraj Singh and Harpreet Singh from Gurdaspur. They are said to have paid huge amounts of money, between ₹38 lakh and ₹52 lakh, to illegal agents for travel to the U.S. through complex routes involving several nations.

This comes after the deportation of about 299 illegal Indian migrants by American authorities to Panama. The International Organization for Migration escorted the return of these people back to India. Three batches consisting of a total of 332 Indian deportees were repatriated directly from the U.S. to Amritsar using military planes earlier this month.

The Indian authorities have been conducting active checks on the citizenship of deported individuals in third countries prior to their repatriation. This is intended to ensure repatriation only of bona fide Indian nationals, ensuring the integrity of immigration procedures.

The experience highlights the danger posed by unauthorised migration and exploitation at the hands of illegal agents. Authorities still counsel citizens to maintain legitimate avenues of foreign travel and work to keep off such unpleasant experiences.