12 more US deportees sent back, land in Delhi
A batch of 12 Indians deported from the US, and taken to Panama, arrived back in the country on Sunday, officials and reports said, but added that unlike in previous instances of American military transport being used, these people flew back in commercial flights.
This is the first instance of Indians deported from the US to a third country since president Donald Trump returned to power with a hardened anti-immigration agenda.
On Friday, Indian authorities stated that they had begun verifying the nationality of 50 people presumed to be Indians who were part of a group of 299 migrants deported by US to Panama in recent days. It is not clear if the 12 were part of the same group.
“The deported illegal immigrants from the US via Panama came on Turkish Airlines flight 4651. The flight reached Delhi via Istanbul on Sunday at around 4.40 am,” said an airport official, on condition of anonymity.
Panama and Costa Rica are among the Central American countries that are collaborating with the US to repatriate deported migrants.