NEW DELHI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. military plane carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants Wednesday landed at an airport in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, officials said.
This is the first batch of Indians deported from the United States as part of President Donald Trump's campaign against illegal immigrants in his country.
According to officials, the C-17 U.S. military aircraft took off from San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday and landed at the airport in Amritsar in the afternoon on Wednesday.
Police and civil administration officials were present at the airport to receive the 104 individuals comprising 79 men and 25 women.
Of the 104 illegal immigrants, 33 are from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
A local television news channel NDTV quoting its sources said each deported Indian national onboard the flight is "verified", indicating New Delhi's involvement in the process.
Officials said the deportees are not offenders in India, as they might have used the legal route to leave the country but tried entering the United States via the illegal route.
Immediately after Trump took over as U.S. President for the second time, he started a massive crackdown on illegal immigrants.
U.S. military aircraft have flown back immigrants deported to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
India's foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, had earlier said that New Delhi was open to the "legitimate return" of Indian nationals living illegally abroad, including in the United States.
Last week, India's foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at a press briefing said New Delhi was against illegal immigration because it is linked to several forms of organized crime. ■
