As many as 104 illegal Indian immigrants in the United States landed on Wednesday at Sri Guru Ramdasji International Airport in the holy city of Amritsar in the US military plane C-17, according to sources.

Thirty of them are from Punjab, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat, while three each are said to be from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two are from Chandigarh, they said.

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Panic gripped the entire Punjab and Haryana from where many people are said to have entered the United States through donkey routes or other illegal means.

Initially, there were reports that the US military aircraft was carrying 205 illegal Indian immigrants but the authorities were not disclosing any specific details in this regard.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal Tuesday said that many people from the country entered the US on work permits which later expired. This made them illegal immigrants, he said.

Dhaliwal has also planned to meet External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar next week to discuss the issue, while Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav has said the police are all prepared to extend every possible support needed.

It is learnt that documents and other details of the immigrants at the airport are being verified by the competent authorities.

A US Embassy spokesperson in New Delhi Tuesday expressed his inability to share specific details but reiterated that the actions taken send a “clear message that illegal migration is not worth the risk.”

“I have received a number of inquiries on the report of a deportation flight to India. I can’t share any details on those inquiries, but I can share, on the record, that the United States is vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants. These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk,” he said.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing in New Delhi recently that “We are against illegal immigration, especially because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.”

“For Indians not just in the United States, but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals and they are overstaying, or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality and that they are indeed Indians,” he said.