Among Indian deportees from US, a girl who went to marry her fiancé

Daler Singh had reached the US a few months ago. He was working as a bus driver here before he was paid Rs 30 lakh to reach the US.

A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various states landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump government as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.

Of them, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.

Testimonies from relatives of those deported claim that they spent between Rs 30 lakh and 50 lakh to send them to the United States. Many had reached the country through the illegal route in recent months and were yet to apply for asylum.

In an interview with the Indian Express a relative of the deportee, Charanjit Singh said, "My grandson had gone to the US just 15 days ago. I did not agree with the decision to send him to the US. But I don’t know what has gone wrong with the youth. I don’t know how much money they spent on sending him."

Daler Singh was working as a bus driver here before he was paid Rs 30 lakh to reach the US.

A relative of Daler Singh said, “We had no contact with him for the last 15 days. We got a call from the police station today morning that Daler will reach Amritsar today.”

Akashdeep, after failing to get a study visa, went to Dubai to work as a truck driver. He later decided to try his luck in the US through an agent in Dubai. His father Swarn Singh, a farmer owning around 2.5 to 3 acres of land, spent nearly Rs 60 lakh, including expenses in Dubai to support his son's journey. In spite of facing financial losses, Singh was relieved that his son returned safely. He said,"Money comes and goes, but the important thing is that my son is home safely.”

Hailing from Verpal village, Sukhjeet Kaur went to the US to marry her fiance who was residing there. Before she could get married, she was detained and deported.

While her father Kabul SIngh stays in Italy, her mother and brother live in Punjab.

According to the report, Sukhjeet, who is 26 years old and had completed her schooling, fell prey to an agent and entered US illegally.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the US government's decision and said these individuals, who contributed to that country's economy, should have been granted permanent residency instead of being deported.

He also said, “I want to convey a message to these Punjabis that the government is with them. I will take it up with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the Cabinet meeting on February 10 that we should take it up with the banks to waive off the interest of those who took loans to go to the US”.

(With PTI inputs)