A flight carrying 12 Indian nationals deported from the United States via Panama arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Sunday. Among them, four individuals hail from Punjab, according to reports.
This marks the first batch of Indians deported from the Central American nation, as per India Today. Currently, around 50 Indians are among the 300 people deported from the US and temporarily housed in a hotel in Panama.
Panama and Costa Rica are key partners in the US government’s strategy to repatriate deported migrants. The US has been sending undocumented migrants from several Asian countries to these nations, particularly in cases where the home countries have refused to accept them.
The repatriation agreement between Panama and the US was announced earlier this month following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit. As part of the arrangement, the US bears all costs associated with the deportations.
Indian authorities are in the process of verifying the identities of the deportees. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that necessary assistance would be provided to those identified as Indian nationals.
“We are verifying the details to confirm whether the individuals concerned are Indian nationals. Once that process is complete, arrangements will be made for them,” Jaiswal said.
The US has already deported over 300 Indian migrants in three separate flights that landed in Amritsar on February 5, 15, and 16. Opposition parties in India have criticized the treatment of deportees, particularly reports of them being shackled, and have urged the Indian government to take up the matter with US authorities.
Sources By Agencies
