Lovepreet Kaur, a 30-year-old woman from Bholath in Punjab’s Kapurthala district, endured a harrowing 25-day ordeal before being deported from the United States. She and her 10-year-old son were among the 104 Indian illegal immigrants sent back as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.
A Costly Dream Ends in Chains
Lovepreet had embarked on the perilous journey to reunite with her husband, who has been living in the US for years. Her family paid ₹1.05 crore to agents who promised safe passage through the infamous ‘dunki’ route, a dangerous and illegal pathway via Latin America. However, instead of a smooth entry, she was caught at the US border after traveling through multiple countries under dire conditions.
“It was nothing like what we were told. The agent assured us a direct entry, but we suffered through unimaginable hardships,” she told The Indian Express.
A Treacherous Route to the US
Lovepreet and her son were first flown to Medellín, Colombia, where they were stranded for nearly two weeks before being moved to San Salvador, El Salvador. From there, they had to walk for over three hours to Guatemala, then take taxis to the Mexican border. After two days in Mexico, they finally crossed into the US on January 27, only to be apprehended by border authorities.
US officials confiscated their belongings, including SIM cards and jewelry. “I had already lost my luggage earlier, so there was nothing left to give them,” Lovepreet recounted. Detained in a camp for five days, she was later shackled—chained from the waist to her legs and handcuffed—before being put on a 40-hour flight back to India on a US military C-17 aircraft. Only the children were spared from being restrained.
A Shocking Return Home
The flight remained eerily silent, with no indication of their destination. “No one told us where we were going. When we finally landed in Amritsar, we were told we had reached India. It was a moment of complete heartbreak,” she said. Her in-laws, who own nearly six acres of farmland, traveled to Amritsar to receive her but were too stunned to speak much about the ordeal.
Political Outrage Over ‘Degrading’ Treatment
The deportation of 104 Indians sparked outrage in Parliament, with opposition lawmakers protesting the mistreatment of the returnees. Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury condemned the conditions in which they were transported, stating that the deportees were “handcuffed, had their legs chained, and even struggled to use the washroom.” Another Congress leader, Gaurav Gogoi, called the treatment “degrading” and demanded a discussion in Parliament.
The protests mirror concerns raised internationally. In January, Brazil sought an explanation from the US after a similar deportation flight carrying 88 migrants faced allegations of inhumane treatment. The Trump administration’s use of military aircraft for mass deportations marks a significant shift from past practices, where chartered or commercial planes were used by ICE.
Lovepreet Kaur’s story is just one among many, highlighting the grim reality of illegal migration and the exploitation faced by those seeking a better future. Her family’s dreams may have been shattered, but her ordeal serves as a stark warning to others considering the perilous ‘dunki’ route to the United States.
Sources By Agencies