U.S. military plane deporting Indian immigrants lands in India

5/2/2025 17:29

A U.S. military plane carrying illegal Indian immigrants landed in India's northern city of Amritsar on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said, deporting an unspecified number of people as part of President Donald Trump's immigration agenda.



Some local media reported that the flight was bringing 205 people back, while others put the number at 104, and that they were mainly from the northern state of Punjab, where Amritsar is located, and the western state of Gujarat.



The Trump administration has increasingly turned to the military to help carry out its immigration agenda, using military aircraft to deport migrants and opening military bases to house them.



Although illegal Indian immigrants have been deported home by previous U.S. administrations, it is the first time Washington has used a military aircraft for the purpose. It is also the farthest destination so far for such flights using a military aircraft.



Reuters reported on Tuesday that the C-17 aircraft with migrants on board had departed for India but would not arrive for at least 24 hours. The flight did not show up on public flight trackers but local news TV channels showed the aircraft taxiing after it landed in Amritsar.