Families of illegal immigrants from Gujarat claim ignorance about how their kin landed in US

Ahmedabad: Family members of illegal immigrants from Gujarat who were deported from the US have claimed they do not know how their kin reached the foreign soil.

Former deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel expressed sympathy for the deported Gujaratis, underlining the fact that they had gone to the foreign country looking for a job or career, and they should not be portrayed as criminals.

A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at Amritsar in Punjab in the afternoon. Sources said that 33 of the 104 deportees are from Gujarat.

The majority of them are from Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Patan, Vadodara and Kheda districts, sources said. They are expected to reach their native places on Thursday.

Kanubhai Patel, whose daughter is among the deportees, claimed she had gone to Europe for a vacation with her friends a month ago.

"I have no idea what she planned after reaching Europe. The last time we talked with her was January 14. We have no idea how she reached the US," said Patel, a resident of Chandranagar-Dabhla village in Mehsana district.

Another deportee belongs to Luna village of Vadodara district. Her uncle Pravin Patel told reporters that she left for the US a month ago.

"She lives nearby, in the same village. She got married a year ago and went to the US last month. We only know that she has been deported. We don't know the reason behind her deportation," he said.

BJP leader Nitin Patel said these deportees should not be harassed after their return to the state.

"I sympathise with every person who has been deported from the US. They went there to build their career, do a job or set up their business. Gujarati immigrants in the US are known for living peacefully and they never break any law. I urge the media to show some sympathy towards them....don't portray them as criminals," the former deputy CM told reporters at his residence here.

"They were living in the US for quite some time. They were not caught at the border. They are being sent back just because they don't have some permissions. I urge the state government to see to it that they are not harassed, and also help them upon their arrival here," said Patel.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, CID-Crime, Parikshita Rathod said the police will not question the deportees at this stage.

In the past, Gujarat Police have taken action against immigration agents for sending people to the US and Canada through illegal means.

In 2022, a family from Dingucha village in Gandhinagar froze to death while trying to illegally enter the United States from Canada.

Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two children died, apparently due to exposure to the extreme cold amid a blizzard, on the US-Canada border in January 2022.

Later, police arrested three agents -- Yogesh Patel, Bhavesh Patel and Dashrath Chaudhary -- in the case. Probe revealed that the accused had sent seven others to Canada through the same network.

In December 2022, Brijkumar Yadav, hailing from Kalol town of Gandhinagar, died during an unsuccessful bid to cross the US-Mexico border wall, also known as `the Trump Wall'.

According to Gandhinagar Police, Yadav worked as an accountant, and had kept the other family members in the dark about his US immigration plans before leaving with wife Puja and three-year-old son Tanmay.

As per news reports, he died after a fall while scaling the border wall, while his wife and the son suffered severe injuries.