Chandigarh: They had dreamt of settling in the US for a better life but returned in 'shackles', staring at a bleak future.

Many of the deportees, who arrived in Amritsar on Saturday aboard a US military aircraft carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants, revealed how their families had arranged large sums of money—either by selling or mortgaging farmland or borrowing from relatives—to send them to the US.

Among the newly deported, 65 were from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, 8 from Gujarat, two each from Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Sourav (20), who reached his village, Chandiwala, in Punjab’s Ferozepur district on Sunday, shared how he was caught by US authorities while attempting to cross the border on January 27. He had left home for the US on December 17 last year.

“We were kept in a detention centre for 18 days,” Sourav recalled, adding that their mobile phones were confiscated. “A day before yesterday, we were told that we would be moved to another camp. When we were boarded onto a plane, they said we were being sent back to India.”

Sourav’s family spent Rs 45-46 lakh to send him abroad. “Two acres of farmland were sold and money was borrowed from a commission agent,” he explained.

He also described the journey, which took him via Amsterdam, Panama, and Mexico before reaching the US border. Regarding the conditions on the flight to Amritsar, Sourav said, “We were handcuffed, and our legs were chained.”

Harjit Singh, who hails from Khanowal Ghuman village in Gurdaspur district, was deported from the US alongside his cousin. "We reached home around 6 am today," he said. “We were caught while crossing the US border on January 27 and kept in a detention centre for 18 days before being deported on February 13, handcuffed and chained.”

Harjit added that his family spent Rs 90 lakh to send him and his cousin to the US. “We were promised that we would be taken there legally, but that was not the case,” he said.

Mantaj Singh (22), from Bodal village in Hoshiarpur district, shared his experience of being caught by US Border Patrol as he tried to enter the US. He had been brought there through the ‘donkey route’, an illegal and perilous pathway often used by migrants.

Sahil Preet Singh, from Behbal Bahadur village in Kapurthala district, faced a similar ordeal. His family spent Rs 40-45 lakh to send him abroad, but were duped by a travel agent, according to his mother, Harvinder Kaur. She said the family arranged the money by selling agricultural land, gold ornaments, and borrowing from relatives. She has called for the Punjab government to provide a job to her son and file a criminal case against the fraudulent agent.

Jaswinder Singh, from Dharamkot village in Moga district, left home for the US about 45 days ago. A village sarpanch revealed that the family sold one-and-a-half acres of land and raised Rs 45 lakh, which was handed to a travel agent who later deceived them.

Many of the first batch of illegal immigrants, who arrived in Amritsar on February 5, were also from Punjab. They, too, had hoped for a better life in the US for their families, but were likewise deceived by their agents.