Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Jaspal Singh, 36, one of the Indian immigrants deported by the United States talks to his relatives upon his return to his home near Amritsar, India, Thursday, Feb. Parliament adjourned as the opposition chanted slogans and demanded a discussion about flights. The protests mirrored concerns after a contentious deportation flight to Brazil on Jan. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had three flights to the city of Amritsar last year, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data.
The Trump administration's use of military aircraft for deportations to countries including Guatemala and Ecuador is a departure from previous practice, which relied on ICE's use of chartered and commercial planes. Parliament Speaker Om Birla tried to calm the lawmakers, saying the transportation of the deportees was a matter of U.
One deportee, Jaspal Singh, said the immigrants' handcuffs and leg chains were taken off only at the Amritsar airport in India. Singh, 36, said they initially thought they were being taken to another camp in the U.
Opposition lawmakers, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also protested outside the Parliament as they demanded a response from the government. Gandhi uploaded a video showing another deportee, Harvinder Singh, as saying they were handcuffed and their feet chained for 40 hours. He said the U. Jaishankar said the government was engaging the U. Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week and Trump stressed the importance of fair bilateral trade and India buying more American-made security equipment.
A spokesperson at the U. Embassy in New Delhi said enforcing immigration laws was critical for the country's national security and public safety. Indians were arrested more than 14, times for illegally entering the U.
