Deportees recall ordeal as their American dream 'crash-lands' in Amritsar

Chandigarh: They had dreamt of settling in the US for a better life but they came back in 'shackles', staring at a bleak future.

Many of the deportees, who were in the US military aircraft that landed at the Amritsar airport on Saturday, said their family arranged large sums of money by either selling or mortgaging their farmland or by borrowing from their relatives, only to send them to the US.

Among the fresh batch of 116 illegal migrants deported by the US, 65 were from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Sourav (20), who reached his village Chandiwala in Punjab's Ferozepur district on Sunday, said he was caught by the US authorities while trying to enter the country by crossing the border on January 27. He left home for the US on December 17 last year.

"We were kept in a camp (detention centre) for 18 days," Sourav said, adding that their mobile phones were taken away. "A day before yesterday, we were told that we will be shifted to another camp. When we were put into a plane, they said we are being taken to India," he said.

Stating that his family spent Rs 45-46 lakh to send him to abroad, Sourav said, "Two acres of farmland were sold and money was borrowed from a commission agent." Sharing details about his journey, he said he was taken to the US border via Amsterdam, Panama, and Mexico.

On whether they were shackled en route to Amritsar, Sourav said, "We were handcuffed and our legs were chained."

Harjit Singh, who hails from Khanowal Ghuman village in Gurdaspur district, was deported from the US along with his cousin. "We were caught while crossing the US border on January 27 and kept at a detention centre for 18 days. We were deported on February 13, handcuffed with our legs chained," he said.

Harjit said his family spent Rs 90 lakh on him and his cousin for them to go to the US. "We were assured that we would be taken to America legally, but we were not," he added.

Mantaj Singh (22), a resident of Bodal village in Hoshiarpur district, said he was caught by the US Border Patrol as soon as he tried to enter the US, adding that he was taken there via 'donkey route', an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter the US.

The parents of Sahil Preet Singh, a resident of Behbal Bahadur village in Kapurthala district, said they spent Rs 40-45 lakh for sending their son abroad. Claiming that a travel agent duped them, Sahil's mother Harvinder Kaur said the family arranged the money by selling agricultural land and gold ornaments and by borrowing from their relatives. She also demanded the Punjab government to give a job to his son and file a criminal case against the fraudulent agent.

Jaswinder Singh from Dharamkot village in Moga district left home for the US nearly 45 days ago. A sarpanch from his village said the family sold one-and-a-half acres of land, raised Rs 45 lakh and gave it to a travel agent who in turn duped them.

Many from the first batch of illegal immigrants who landed in Amritsar on February 5, most of them from Punjab, had also said they wanted to migrate to the US for a better life for their families but were duped by their agents.