Donald Trump stormed into officeඣ on the promise of launching one of the largest deportation operations in American history. He claimed that under his watch officials would deport between 15 to 20 million undocumented persons from the country. Never mind that a survey by the Pew Research Centre placed the number of illegal immigrants in the US at between 11 to 12 million. The frenzy of arrests and deportations in the first one month has been played out deliberately in the public eye to show voters who rooted for Donald Trump that "we are on the job,’’ as CNN’s Anderson Cooper pointed out. The message is that unlike the Biden era, this administration is determined and in a hurry to show American’s that they mean business.
The US administration is out to prove that illegal migrants will not be treated with kid gloves. Deportations are taking place in a blitz of publicity in social media posts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other government agencies as well as in radio and television feeds. Images of deportees chained and shackled to their seats, including people from India on long haul flights of nearly 14-hours, are being pushed relentlessly. Instead of commercial flights, military deportation flights which are much more expensive are used for effect.
🙈In an America that is turning nativist and anti-immigrant, the plight of the migrant is of no concern to the Trump voter. In the rigid binary that pervades political thinking in the US and large parts of the world, human values have been thrown under the bus. The argument is that the migrants have broken US law and deserves what comes their way. In this atmosphere treating the other with respect is not part of the rule book.
♈Despite the flurry of activity and the publicity, Trump has deported roughly 37,660 migrants during his first month in office, according to Reuters. This is a far cry from the Presidents boast of conducting the largest deportation in US history. To add insult to injury, the figures are much below the 57,000 removals reported month on month during the last year of the Biden presidency.
🎃The recent shocking pictures of immigrants kept in Panama’s Decápolis Hotel, sticking desperate messages for help on glass windows shows the desperation of people confined inside. Latest reports suggest 300 persons are in the hotel. Among them are detainees from South Asia—India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. All three countries are willing to take back their citizens. In fact 12 Indian nationals held in the Panama hotel returned to India on Sunday. They arrived on a normal Turkish airline commercial flight that landed in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport. Four of the deportees were from Punjab and three each from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The identity of one individual was not ascertained.
🐻But many of those held in the Panama hotel are asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan and China. The situation of those escaping persecution from these countries is unlike that of people from South America, India and other south Asian nations. When these migrants are sent back, assuming Tehran, Kabul and Beijing are willing to take them, imprisonment and even death awaits them.
𝓰Some of the messages stuck to windows read "We are not safe in our country.’’
Political dissent is not tolerated by the Taliban, or the hard line regimes in China or Tehran. The number of young people executed during the women’s uprising in Iran after the death of 21-year old Mahsa Amini🧸 in 2022 for not following the strict hijab regulations is a pointer. Those escaping to the US will be regarded as traitors by their governments. According to a report by the BBC, nearly 40 percent of those held in Panama are unwilling to go back voluntarily. What will the US do with them finally is anybody’s guess. Perhaps get a third country to accept asylum seekers from countries like Iran, China and Afghanistan.
𝐆 The large scale arrests had led to a shortage of detention centres in the US. The administration according to NBC, had beds to hold 41,500 detainees at 106 facilities across the country at a time. So third countries in the neighbourhood is being asked to act as bridges.
🀅After threatening to take back the US-built Panama canal🅺 that was handed back to the country by President Jimmy Carter, Trump sent his newly minted secretary of state Marco Rubio there. In talks with President Jose Mulino, Panama agreed to be the bridge country where deportees could be kept till arrangements are finalised to fly them out. Costa Rica and El Salvador have also signed in to hold deportees from the US. The deportation effort could take off in several months, aided by agreements from these countries.
Guantanamo Bay, made infamous since 9/11 suspects were sent there is now again in the news as ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚthe US has turned it into another holding area🔜. The government plans to keep as many as 30,000 migrants in the facilities there. Last week, 175 Venezuelans were sent to Guantanamo Bay. These illegal migrants have been dubbed as drug peddlers, rapists, murderers and as members of criminal gangs. Two plane load of Venezuelans have already been flown back to the country. Venezuela has welcomed them with open arms, with a senior government minister at hand in the airport. The government says that far from being members of criminal gangs, many of the returnees are ordinary people looking for better employment in the US.
🍬The Trump White House is impatient at what it believes is the slow rate of deportation. The President wants ICE to do more. Russell Hott and Peter Berg, who held top positions in the enforcement division of ICE, were shifted out to other assignments. The director Caleb Vetello has also been shifted out. The shake-up is possibly due to the frustration of senior Trump officials who want more to done at a faster rate.
🐟On Sunday the 12 Indian deportees were sent back with dignity, unlike those who came in earlier on US military planes. This is not the first time that Indians are being deported. Since 2009, as many as 15,897 illegal migrants from India have been sent back. The maximum numbers were in 2019 when 2,042 people returned, with 1,889 in 2020, and 1,368 in 2024. In 2025, US authorities had issued removal orders to 487 illegal Indian migrants. The numbers are likely to increase as the crackdown against undocumented migrants gather pace.
