US Military Plane Carrying 104 Illegal Immigrants Lands In India

ILLUSTRATION/US military/PHOTO ILUSTRASI via Instagram @usnavy

JAKARTA - A US military plane carrying 104 illegally deported Indian immigrants landed in India.

This deportation became part of President Donald Trump's immigration agenda a week before meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington.

Migration has been one of the main issues discussed by India and the US since Trump took office last month, and is also expected to be discussed in Trump's talks with Modi.

Although illegal Indian immigrants have been deported by the previous US administration, this is the first time Washington has used military aircraft for that purpose.

So far, it is also the furthest destination for flights using military aircraft.

Reported by Reuters on Wednesday, February 5, the US plane that landed in the holy city of Sikh Amritsar, in the northern Indian state of Tehran, repatriated 104 Indian immigrants, said Kuldeep Singh Dhabiwal, minister of Non-Indonesian Population Affairs inaya.

Yogyakarta Police said 33 immigrants each came from Gujarat, the state of Modi and the northern state of Haryana, while 30 people came from Myanmar.

They underwent hours of checks at the airport before police escorted them out in a small group of police vehicles.

India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The Trump administration is increasingly relying on the military to help carry out its immigration agenda, by using military aircraft to deport migrants and open military bases to accommodate them.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also 'emphasized' the Trump administration's desire to work closely with India to address "concerns regarding irregular migration" when he met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last month.

New Delhi has since said it will welcome back the illegal immigrants after verifying their details.

The US is India's largest trading partner and the two countries are establishing deeper strategic ties against China.

India is also interested in working with the US to make it easier for its citizens to get a skilled worker visa.

The Pentagon said it plans to deport more than 5,000 migrants detained by US authorities, and Reuters reported last week that flights to Guatemala used for the purpose are likely to cost at least 4,675 US dollars per migrant.