Videos showing an Indian student being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by authorities at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey before his deportation have gone viral, sparking widespread outrage on social media.
The footage, first recorded by a witness and Indian-American entrepreneur Kunal Jain, captured the student being restrained by at least four officers, two of whom had their knees on his back. His hands and legs had been tied.
Jain, who shared the video on social media platform X, wrote, "I witnessed a young Indian student being deported from Newark Airport last night — handcuffed, crying, treated like a criminal. He came chasing dreams, not causing harm. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy." He also appealed to the Indian Embassy in the US to look into the incident and provide support to the student.
Indian Consulate responds to viral video
A day later, the Indian Consulate in New York acknowledged the reports, saying they had seen social media posts about an Indian national facing difficulties at the airport.
"We are in touch with local authorities in this regard. The Consulate remains ever committed to the welfare of Indian nationals," it said in a statement.
Nobody intervened
Recounting the incident to NDTV, Jain said he had never seen such treatment meted out even to terrorists. "There were about 50 people around, but no one dared to intervene. The student appeared disoriented and possibly agitated, which I believe was why he was restrained so forcefully.
He was speaking in a Haryanvi dialect, and the officers said they couldn't understand him. I offered to help translate, but a police officer refused and instead called for more police."
The video has stirred memories of previous deportations of Indian nationals from the US.
In February, more than 100 Indians were sent back under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. A video released by US Border Patrol at the time showed the deportees handcuffed and their legs shackled as they disembarked, forced to shuffle in a line — a method typically associated with hardened criminals. That incident had drawn strong criticism from opposition leaders in India, who questioned why the government had not arranged for a more dignified return of its citizens.
