Even as a US military aircraft carrying several Indians, who were deported from the US, arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon; the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), a global non-partisan and non-sectarian organisation serving the Punjabi diaspora worldwide; urged the Punjab government to establish a substantial rehabilitation fund to support the young deportees. According to reports, 30 people out of a total of 104, are from Punjab.
“It’s mostly young people in their 20s and 30s who are reckless and push their parents for money to immigrate to the US through illegal routes. The older and more mature US immigration aspirants from Punjab will usually explore legal methods,” Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of NAPA, told the Times of India from his home in northern California.
He added that a lack of support and resources for the deported returnees could lead to severe social and economic challenges for them and issues of unemployment, mental health crises and increase in crime and illegal activities for the Punjab government. “Many of these young individuals leave their homes with dreams of a better future but find themselves deported due to immigration challenges. They return with shattered hopes, financial distress, and psychological trauma. There will be many challenges for their families and communities if nobody is willing to help them. The Punjab government should take the responsibility to ensure their rehabilitation and reintegration into society,” Chahal said. He proposed that the state government allocate financial resources for skill development programmes, employment opportunities, and mental health counselling to help the deportees rebuild their lives.
Chahal who had visited a detention facility in Salt Lake in Utah in 2016, to help 60 detainees from Punjab who were charged with trying to enter the US illegally, urged policymakers to engage with community-based organisations like NAPA to create comprehensive strategies to address the issue effectively. “In 2016, after I held discussions with the authorities at the detention centre and highlighted the inhuman conditions in which the detainees from Punjab were being held, a committee was formed which recommended the release of the 60 detainees. In Punjab, too, the problem should be addressed as a wider societal issue and a humane solution found,” Chahal added. “If we fail to act now, the consequences will be dire—not just for the youth but for Punjab’s social fabric and economy as a whole.”
Chahal added that it is important to spread the message among young people in Punjab about safe and legal immigration avenues to the US such as enrolling for higher education in US universities or marriage to US citizens and green card holders. “Illegal immigration has always been frowned upon by US authorities and it’s not worth taking the risk. In fact, it’s not just the Trump administration, deportation numbers from India were high even under the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden,” he said.
