Last Updated:February 05, 2025, 20:48 IST
The US Air Force aircraft took off from San Antonio, Texas, and landed at Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Punjab’s Amritsar.
Photo being circulated widely claiming illegal Indian immigrants were handcuffed and chained is fake. (Image: AP)
A US military aircraft carrying illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon, marking the first such deportation to India under Donald Trump’s second term. However, what grabbed everyone’s attention was the picture, shared by the Congress party, in which the deported immigrants were seen handcuffed and their legs chained while being deported by the United States.
The US Air Force aircraft took off from San Antonio, Texas, and landed at Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Punjab’s Amritsar.
Referring to the picture, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “Looking at the pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated while being deported from the US saddens me as an Indian.”
The picture soon became viral on social media and generated outrage with several users reacting on it and expressing their displeasure over the treatment of Indians. However, it is important to note that the image being shared on social media is fake.
PIB fact-checked the viral image and noted that the images claiming that illegal Indian migrants were handcuffed and chained while being deported by the US do not pertain to Indians. Instead, the pictures show migrants who were deported from the United States to Guatemala on January 30.
A #Fake image is being shared on social media by many accounts with a claim that illegal Indian migrants have been handcuffed and their legs chained while being deported by US#PIBFactCheck▶️ The image being shared in these posts does not pertain to Indians. Instead it shows… pic.twitter.com/9bD9eYkjVO
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) February 5, 2025
In fact, the image was first published by news agency Associated Press on February 1 with the caption saying, “US Air Force jet with migrants bound at their wrists and ankles departed Texas for Guatemala on Thursday, carrying 80 deportees in another deportation flight that reflects a growing role for the armed forces in helping enforce immigration laws.”
Congress Expresses Sadness
Claiming that the Indians deported from the US were “handcuffed and humiliated”, chairman of the Congress party’s media and publicity department Pawan Khera on X wrote, “I remember in December of 2013, an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was handcuffed and strip-searched in America.”
“Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh registered a strong protest with US Ambassador Nancy Powell. The UPA govt retaliated sharply. Leaders like Ms Meira Kumar, Sushil Kumar Shinde & Rahul Gandhi refused to meet the US Congressional delegation (George Holding, Pete Olson, David Schweikert, Rob Woodalland Madeleine Bordallo) that was visiting India at that time,” the Congress leader said in a post on X.
“Dr Manmohan Singh termed the US action ‘deplorable’. Govt of India withdrew several perks given to the US embassy, including imports of food and alcohol at concessional rates by embassy staff,” he added.