Lovepreet Kaur, a 30-year-old from Bholath in Punjab’s Kapurthala district, left for the US on January 2 with her 10-year-old son. She hoped to reunite with her husband, who had been living there for years. However, US border officials caught her while she was trying to enter through Mexico.
Her family took a huge financial risk. They paid ₹1.05 crore to agents who assured them of a safe journey via the dangerous ‘dunki route’ through Latin America.
Meanwhile, her in-laws, who own six acres of farmland, traveled to Amritsar to receive her and the child. Yet, when they learned about her deportation, they were too shocked to speak.
US Sends Her Back
As part of Trump’s immigration policy, US authorities deported Lovepreet along with 104 other Indian immigrants. Her husband was the first to inform her family. At first, he told them about her detention, and later, he confirmed that she was being deported.
According to a village sarpanch, her husband arranged most of the money from the US. In addition, the family took a loan against their farmland. Recalling her ordeal, Lovepreet told The Indian Express, “The agent told our family they would take us directly to the US. But what we endured was far from what we expected.”
A Long and Risky Route
Instead of a direct journey, Lovepreet was forced to take a dangerous path. She moved across several countries, hoping to reach the US.
First, she flew to Medellin, Colombia, where she stayed for nearly two weeks. After that, she boarded a flight to San Salvador, El Salvador. Then, she walked for more than three hours to Guatemala before taking taxis to the Mexican border. Finally, after spending two days in Mexico, she crossed into the US on January 27.
Upon arrival, US authorities took away her SIM card, earrings, and bangles. “I had already lost my luggage in the previous country, so I had nothing to deposit with them,” she recalled. They kept her in a detention camp for five days before deporting her.
“On February 2, they chained us from the waist to our legs and cuffed our hands. Only the children were spared,” she said.
Even worse, she had to endure a 40-hour flight on a US military C-17 aircraft in complete silence. “No one told us where we were being taken. When we landed in Amritsar, it felt like our dreams were shattered in an instant,” she added.
Opposition Slams US for ‘Inhumane’ Treatment
As news of the deportation spread, outrage erupted in India. On Thursday, opposition leaders staged protests in Parliament.
A US military plane carrying Indian migrants had landed on Wednesday, marking the first such deportation flight under Trump’s crackdown. Criticizing the treatment of the deportees, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury said, “They were handcuffed, had their legs chained, and even struggled to use the washroom.” Similarly, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi condemned the incident, calling it “degrading.”
Meanwhile, the protests in India echoed a similar controversy in Brazil. On January 25, a deportation flight carrying 88 migrants triggered a diplomatic dispute. As a result, the Brazilian government demanded an explanation for the mistreatment.
Notably, Trump’s administration has shifted to using military aircraft for deportations to countries like Guatemala and Ecuador. Previously, ICE relied on chartered or commercial flights.