Crushing debt and shattered dreams: Families of Punjab deportees stare at bleak future

Chandigarh: Family members of the illegal immigrants from Punjab who are among the 104 Indians deported from the US on Wednesday said they took huge loans to facilitate their travel to America hoping for a bright future but now feel it is impossible to break free from the crushing debt.

The families alleged that the travel agents adopted unfair means to facilitate the youths' travel to the US without their knowledge. They now seek strict action against those agents.

A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various states landed at Amritsar airport on Wednesday, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump government as part of a crackdown it resolved to carry out when it was sworn in last month.

Of the deportees, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, sources said.

Among the illegal immigrants hailing from Punjab, six are from Kapurthala, five from Amritsar, four each from Patiala and Jalandhar, two each from Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, SBS Nagar and one each from Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, SAS Nagar and Fatehgarh Sahib.

Harwinder Singh (41), who hails from Tahli village in Hoshiarpur district, was among the deportees from Punjab.

He had left home for the United States around eight months ago. His wife Kuljinder Kaur claimed that a travel agent charged Rs 42 lakh, promising to send Harwinder to the US in a legal way.

However, the agent facilitated his journey through treacherous "donkey routes", illegal and risky pathways used by migrants to enter the United States, she claimed.

Harwinder last contacted the family on January 15, informing them that he had crossed the US border. "Since then, there has been no communication. We came to know about his deportation today," she said.

"We sold whatever little we had and borrowed money on high interest to pay the agent, hoping for a better future. But he deceived us," said Kaur.

"Now, not only has my husband been deported we are also left with a huge debt," she said, appealing to the government for help and strict action against the travel agent.

Harwinder has a wife, a son, a daughter, and his elderly parents.

In Hoshiarpur's Darapur village, the family of Sukhpal (35) stare at a bleak future saddled with a mountain of debt. A chef by profession, he had gone to Italy on a one-year work permit in October 2024.

However, the family is completely unaware of how he ended up in the United States.

His father, Prem Saini, a retired government school teacher, told PTI that all necessary documents for Sukhpal's visa had been arranged by their relatives in Italy.

"As far as we knew, he was working legally in Italy as a chef and had all valid documents. We last spoke with him about 20-22 days ago when he was still in Italy. He did not mention anything about travelling elsewhere. Since then, we have had no contact with him," Saini said.

"Today, we learned from the media about his deportation. We do not know how or why he reached the United States," said his father, baffled by the unexpected turn of events.

Sukhpal's family, including his parents, wife, and two children, are now anxiously awaiting his return. "Only after he reaches home will we learn the real story behind his journey to the United States," Saini said.

In Kapurthala's Behbal Bahadue, Gurpreet Singh's family had mortgaged their house to send him abroad.

"We took loans, mortgaged the house and also borrowed money from relatives. We spent Rs 45 lakh to send him to the US. Now we came to know from media reports that he has been deported," said one of his family members.

Same is the case with Jaswinder Singh from Fatehgarh Sahib. His family spent Rs 50 lakh -- took loans on high interest rates and also brrowed from relatives -- to facilitate his travel to the US a few days before last Dussehra.

"We had thought that he would earn some money there," said one of his family members.

Jaspal Singh (36) of Hardorawal village in Gurdaspur district had gone to the US just last month. "We came to know about his deportation through the media on Wednesday morning," said his cousin Jasbir Singh.

About the deportations, he said, "These are issues of governments. When we go abroad for work, we have big dreams for a better future for our families. Those have now been shattered." In Mohali's Jarout village, the family members of Pardeep Singh (21) sought help from the state government, saying they took a huge loans to send him to the US.

They claimed that they had to sell their land and take Rs 20-25 lakh loan to send the youth to the US for a brighter future. But since he has been deported, the family members demanded that either the Mann dispensation provides them fiancial assistance to repay their debt or give the youth a government job.

After Donald Trump assumed office as the US President last month, the country's law enforcement agencies have launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants. Many Indians, who entered the US through "donkey routes" or other illegal means by spending lakhs of rupees, are now facing deportation.