Former Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has expressed his sympathy for the 33 Gujaratis among the 104 illegal Indian immigrants deported from the US, emphasising that they had gone abroad seeking work and should not be depicted as criminals.
The deportees arrived in Amritsar, Punjab, on a US military aircraft on Wednesday afternoon. Subsequently, 33 Gujaratis arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning.
Sources revealed that the majority of the deportees are from Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Patan, Vadodara, and Kheda districts in Gujarat.
Patel urged that these deportees not be harassed upon their return to Gujarat. “I sympathise with every person who has been deported from the US. They went there to build their career, do a job or set up their business. Gujarati immigrants in the US are known for living peacefully and they never break any law. I urge the media to show some sympathy towards them and not portray them as criminals,” he said at his residence.
Family members of some deportees have claimed they were unaware of how their relatives reached the US. Kanubhai Patel, a resident of Chandranagar-Dabhla village in Mehsana district, spoke about his daughter, who had travelled to Europe for a vacation with friends a month ago.
“I have no idea what she planned after reaching Europe. The last time we talked with her was January 14. We have no idea how she reached the US,” Patel was quoted as saying.
In another case, Pravin Patel, an uncle of one of the deportees from Luna village in Vadodara, explained that his niece had travelled to the US a month ago after getting married the previous year.
“We only know that she has been deported. We don’t know the reason behind her deportation,” he told reporters.
Patel further stated that the deportees had been living in the US for some time and were being sent back only due to a lack of certain permissions.
“I urge the state government to ensure that they are not harassed,” Patel added.
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