Enforcing our immigration laws critically important to national security of US: Embassy official

A day after a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Punjab, a spokesperson at the US embassy in New Delhi said "enforcing our nation's immigration laws" is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States. The C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force landed at the Amritsar airport at 1.55 pm on Wednesday. The 104 illegal Indian immigrants brought by the US military aircraft were the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants. The deportees claimed their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing in Amritsar.

Without directly commenting on the deportation flight, the official also said it is the "policy of the US to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens".

In response to queries from some reporters, the official only said, "I can share that enforcing our nation's immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States. It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens."


The deportees were questioned inside the airport terminal building by different government agencies, including the Punjab Police, and various state and central intelligence agencies to check if they had any criminal record.