The use of military planes for deportation by the United States has raised eyebrows, not only due to its high cost but also for the harshness that it symbolised. The recent deportation of 104 Indian nationals aboard a C-17 military aircraft from San Antonio,

US authorities doubled down on the deportation of 104 Indian nationals with the border patrol chief releasing a video that showed Indian nationals, handcuffed and shackled, being hustled into a C-17 military aircraft.

US civilian authorities also shackle migrants by their ankles and wrists, but deportation flights to India are rare. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had three flights to the city of Amritsar last year, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data.