Promised a legal entry into the US, Mandeep Singh’s life was at risk after he was made to deal with crocodiles and snakes, trim his beard despite being a Sikh, and having to go without food for days.
But his dream to secure a better life for his family in Amritsar came crashing down on January 27 when he was arrested by the US Border Patrol while trying to sneak into America via Tijuana in Mexico.
Mandeep was part of 116 Indians to be deported by a US military aircraft that landed at the Amritsar airport late on Saturday, the second such batch of Indians to be sent back after February 5 amid a crackdown by the Donald Trump administration against illegal immigrants.
The third batch of 112 deportees arrived in Amritsar on Sunday night.
Instead of a legal entry as promised, Mandeep’s travel agent put him on the ‘donkey route’ – an illegal and risky pathway used by migrants to enter the US.