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| - Fact Check: Viral Picture Is Not Of Indians Deported From America, But Of Illegal Immigrants Sent To Guatemala
104 Indian immigrants have been deported from the US and sent to India. However, the viral image in connection with this case does not show individuals deported to India, but rather illegal immigrants deported from the US to Guatemala. The deportation of illegal immigrants from the US is not a new practice, and similar actions were taken during the tenure of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
By: Abhishek Parashar
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Published: Feb 10, 2025 at 10:41 AM
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New Delhi (Vishvas News). A heated debate erupted in the Parliament on the issue of 104 Indians deported from the United States (US), prompting Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to issue a clarification. Amid this, a picture is going viral on social media, showing some handcuffed people on board on a plane, with claims that this picture depicts Indians deported from the US.
Vishvas News’ investigation found this claim to be misleading. The viral picture is not of Indians deported from the US but of illegal immigrants deported to Guatemala.
However, like others, Indian immigrants have also been deported under US immigration policies. Earlier too, Indian immigrants have been deported under the same rules.
What is viral?
Social media user ‘Ajay Singh Chhimpa‘ shared the viral post and wrote: “Howdy Modi – Trump… Danka Dunka Dona… If Indians were illegal immigrants in America, shouldn’t their return have been handled with respect? Are India-US relations so strained that Indians had to be sent back to India with handcuffs on their hands and feet? Shame on the government. Every Indian is disgusted by such foreign policy.”
Many other users across different social media platforms have shared this photo with similar claims.
Investigation
According to news reports, on February 5, 2025 a US aircraft carrying more than 104 deported Indians landed at Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport. Most of the deported migrants are from Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana.
Several other reports also feature photographs and stories of deported Indian migrants, which do not match the image in the viral post.
To find the original source of the viral photo, we conducted a reverse image search. We found this image in several reports, which identified it as a photo of illegal immigrants from Guatemala.
According to a Fox News report dated January 30, 2025, this picture features illegal immigrants deported from the US to Guatemala.
This photo has also been used in the elsoldeyakima.com report. According to the report, “Migrants wearing masks and handcuffed wait to be deported to Guatemala on a military plane at Fort Bliss, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in El Paso, Texas.”
Independent.co.uk’s news report also stated that this picture features illegal immigrants sent to Guatemala.
AP News’ official Instagram handle also shared the same photo claiming it to be of Guatemalan exiles.
Our investigation confirms that the viral picture is not of the immigrants deported from the US. It is noteworthy that during his second term, Donald Trump has intensified the deportation of undocumented immigrants from the US. As part of this policy, on February 5, 2025 an American military plane carrying the first batch of Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar.
However, after the arrival of illegal immigrants in India, a political uproar broke out and opposition parties started protesting on the streets and in the Parliament.
According to reports, the deported Indian migrants were handcuffed.
The Chief of the US Border Patrol (UBSP) has released a video from his official X handle featuring illegal Indian immigrants being deported to India in a US military plane, with their hands and legs restrained.
After the uproar in Parliament over the issue, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar issued a statement clarifying that the deportation from the US is neither a new process nor has there been any change in the procedure.
While speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar emphasised that this is not a new process. He pointed out that between 2009 and 2014, illegal Indian immigrants were regularly deported, with 734 deportations in 2009. This number rose to 1,303 by 2016.
Addressing the concerns over deportation with handcuffs, he said, “The SoP implemented by ICE for deportation on planes has been in effect since 2012.” He said, “ICE has been informed by India that women and children are not handcuffed.”
Regarding the viral post, we contacted JP Ranjan, a journalist covering foreign affairs for our associate Dainik Jagran. He stated that deportation from America is not new and has happened earlier also.
Notably, the deportation of illegal immigrants living in the US is not new. According to the BBC report based on the data of the ‘Migration Policy Institute’, illegal immigrants were also deported during Biden’s tenure. In the financial year 2024, 2.71 lakh immigrants were deported to 192 countries. According to the data, Biden deported a total of 1.5 million people in his four-year tenure, which is almost equal to the number of deportations during Trump’s first term. However, this number is less than the cases of deportation during Barack Obama’s first term, when a total of 2.9 million people were deported.
Conclusion: 104 Indian immigrants have been deported from the US and sent to India. However, the viral image in connection with this case does not show individuals deported to India, but rather illegal immigrants deported from the US to Guatemala. The deportation of illegal immigrants from the US is not a new practice, and similar actions were taken during the tenure of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Claim Review : Picture of Indians Deported From America
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Claimed By : FB User-Ajay Singh Chhimpa
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Fact Check : False
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