The United States has deported 54 persons hailing from Haryana for allegedly entering the country using a “donkey route”, which is a long, roundabout journey designed to dodge border controls, ANI reported on Monday.

Unidentified police officers told the news agency on Sunday that the persons arrived at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

A majority of the persons deported were between the ages of 25 and 40.

Karnal Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar confirmed that the persons were deported from the US.

“These individuals, from various villages and towns, had entered the US illegally via the ‘donkey route’ but were deported today,” ANI quoted Kumar as saying on Sunday. “…Karnal Police brought them back and handed them over to their families.”

No complaint has been received about any agent involved in the matter, he added.

Since January, the Donald Trump administration in the US has been tightening immigration regulations. In some cases, the US government had used military aircraft to repatriate undocumented migrants.

In India, opposition leaders had criticised the Union government after videos showed deportees on US military aircraft having been shackled. However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha on February 6 that the persons had been shackled in keeping with past procedure.

On September 27, the Centre said that 2,417 Indians had been deported from the US since January.

On May 19, the US Department of State announced visa restrictions on persons working with Indian travel agencies found to have been “knowingly facilitating illegal immigration” to the United States.

A 2022 US Department of Homeland Security report estimated that 2.2 lakh undocumented Indian migrants were living in the country.

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