Punjab woman deported from US to India says she wants to return to UK, where she is a student
According to the family of Muskan, a 21-year-old from Ludhiana's Jagraon, she left India last year for the UK on a student visa, and they were unaware of how she ended up at the US-Mexico border earlier this month.
On Tuesday, the US deported 104 Indian nationals, including several women and minors, for illegally entering the country. The return of these deportees, who landed at Amritsar airport on Wednesday, came as a shock to many of their families as they were unaware of them being in the US or even attempting to enter the country illegally.
CREDIT: AP
Went to UK in 2024 on student visa
The family of Muskan, a 21-year-old from Ludhiana's Jagraon, is one of them. According to the family, Muskan left India last year for the UK on a student visa, and they were unaware of how she ended up at the US-Mexico border earlier this month.
Her father, Jagdish Kumar, who runs a roadside dhaba, said Muskan's phone had been unreachable for the past ten days, but he was left shocked when he got a call on Tuesday evening informing him that his daughter had landed at Amritsar airport on the deportation flight from the US.
CREDIT: IANS
Family in shock
The 21-year-old, the eldest of three daughters, is a three-year business management student at CU College, London. Her family had taken on huge financial obligations, including a loan, to fund her education.
While the circumstances under which Muskan ended up at the US-Mexico border on January 1 are still unclear, she said she was not attempting to cross the border when she was caught.
Went on a trip with friends
Muskan told The Indian Express that she, along with some friends, had gone on a trip to the Tijuana border when she was apprehended.
She also added that she was not caught while attempting to cross the border and had no intentions of doing so.
CREDIT: AP
According to her, only after landing in Amritsar did she realise that she had been deported to India. Citing that she still has a valid student visa, Muskan is seeking help from the authorities to return to the UK and continue her studies.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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