A 30-year-old woman, Lovepreet Kaur, from Bholath, Punjab, traveled to the United States on January 2 with her 10-year-old son. She aimed to reunite with her husband, who had been living there for years. However, their dreams were shattered when U.S. border authorities detained them while they tried to cross from Mexico. The family risked everything. They paid ₹1.05 crore to agents who promised a safe journey to the U.S. through the perilous ‘dunki’ route across Latin America. Unfortunately, their hopes quickly turned into a nightmare. Meanwhile, her in-laws, who own six acres of farmland, traveled to Amritsar to meet them. But upon hearing the news, they were left in shock and couldn’t speak. Lovepreet was one of 104 Indian illegal immigrants deported by the Trump administration. It was her husband who broke the news to the family and confirmed her deportation.

The Cost of the Journey

Most of the money for the journey came from her husband in the U.S. Additionally, the family took a loan against their farmland. "The agent told our family they would take us directly to the U.S. But what we endured was far from what we expected," Lovepreet said.

The Dangerous Route

Instead of a smooth journey, Lovepreet and her son endured a difficult path. They were flown to Medellin in Colombia and stayed there for nearly two weeks. Afterward, they traveled to San Salvador in El Salvador and walked for over three hours to reach Guatemala. Then, they traveled by taxi to the Mexican border. After staying in Mexico for two days, they finally attempted to cross into the U.S. on January 27. “When we arrived in the U.S., they told us to remove our SIM cards, earrings, and bangles. I had already lost my luggage, so I had nothing to give them. We were kept in a camp for five days. On February 2, they chained our waist and legs and cuffed our hands. Only the children were spared,” Lovepreet recalled.

The Long Flight Home

The worst part of the ordeal came during their 40-hour flight on a U.S. military C-17 aircraft. “No one told us where we were going. When we landed in India, it felt like our dreams were destroyed,” Lovepreet said.

Political Protests and Outrage

Back in India, the deportation sparked protests. Opposition lawmakers in Parliament condemned the treatment of the deportees. A U.S. military plane carrying the immigrants landed in India on Wednesday. This was part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration. Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury criticized the inhumane treatment, stating that the deportees were "handcuffed, legs chained, and struggled to use the washroom." Gaurav Gogoi, another Congress MP, called it "degrading." Furthermore, similar protests followed a deportation flight to Brazil on January 25, prompting Brazil’s government to demand an explanation for the "degrading treatment." The Trump administration’s use of military aircraft for deportations to countries like Guatemala and Ecuador marks a significant departure from the previous practice of using chartered and commercial planes.