In the United States, President Donald Trump continues the deportation operations targeting illegal immigrants. Immigrants with their hands and feet chained for 40 hours shared their experiences. The U.S. Border Patrol shared a video showing immigrants with tied hands as a warning that “if you make an illegal crossing, you will be deported.” These images sparked widespread international outrage.

President Donald Trump’s decisions regarding deporting immigrants have started to be implemented. Immigrants, with their hands and feet chained, were loaded onto a transport plane with difficulty. Gurpreet Singh, a migrant being taken by the U.S. Border Patrol towards a C-17 military transport plane waiting on a Texas runway, shared his experiences with the British broadcaster BBC.

AMERICAN DREAM COMES TO AN END Gurpreet, 39, was one of thousands of Indians who spent their life savings in recent years escaping an unemployment crisis to illegally enter the country from the southern border of the United States. After months of travel, he realized his dream of living in America was coming to an end. He was being deported to India. “I felt like the ground was slipping from under my feet,” he said.

725 THOUSAND UNDOCUMENTED INDIAN MIGRANTS There are approximately 725,000 undocumented Indian migrants in the United States. Gurpreet became one of the first undocumented Indians deported back to the country since President Donald Trump took office. “IF YOU MAKE AN ILLEGAL CROSSING, YOU WILL BE DEPORTED” The latest images of chained migrants under the Trump administration caused anger in India. The U.S. Border Patrol released the footage in a flashy music video with the warning: “If you make an illegal crossing, you will be deported.” When Gurpreet returned to India, he told the BBC, “We sat for more than 40 hours in handcuffs and chains. Even women were tied the same way. Only the children were free. We were not allowed to stand up. When we wanted to use the bathroom, we were escorted by U.S. forces, and only one of our cuffs would be removed.” INDIA REACTED A spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that the government had conveyed its concerns to the United States and claimed that in subsequent flights, women being deported were not handcuffed and chained. Gurpreet said, “No one will try to go to the United States illegally while Trump is in power.” MIGRANTS FROM INDIA TO THE UNITED STATES Gurpreet entered the United States five days before President Trump took office on January 15. He believed he arrived just in time before the borders became impassable and the rules tightened. While the majority of Indians migrate out of economic necessity, some are fleeing persecution due to their religious or social backgrounds or sexual orientations.