United States Deports Additional 39 Bangladeshi Nationals Back Home

ছবিঃ সংগৃহীত

News Desk: Another 39 Bangladeshis have been repatriated from the United States. A special military flight carrying them landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5:30 a.m. on Friday (November 28). Following their arrival, BRAC provided urgent assistance, including transportation support.

Of the 39 returnees, 26 are from Noakhali. The rest include two each from Comilla, Sylhet, Feni, and Lakshmipur, and one each from Chattogram, Gazipur, Dhaka, Munshiganj, and Narsingdi. Earlier this year, the U.S. administration repatriated 187 Bangladeshis.

According to BRAC’s Migration Program, at least 34 of these 39 individuals had traveled to Brazil with clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET). From there, they entered the U.S. illegally via Mexico. The remaining five included three who came via South Africa and two who entered the U.S. directly. After applying for residence in the U.S., the American authorities decided to repatriate them to Bangladesh following legal procedures.

Shariful Hasan, BRAC’s Deputy Director for Migration and Youth Platform, commented, “When the government allows workers to go to Brazil legally, was there any monitoring or precaution to ensure they did not go to the U.S. instead? Each of these individuals spent 3 to 3.5 million BDT only to return empty-handed. Who is responsible for this? The agencies that sent them and were involved in the approval process should be held accountable. Thousands of workers have gone to Brazil in this way. The government must be cautious before granting new approvals for sending workers there.”

Airport sources noted that, unlike previous repatriations this year where returnees were sent back handcuffed and shackled, the 39 Bangladeshis who arrived on Friday were not restrained.

It is worth noting that after Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. President, efforts to deport undocumented immigrants were intensified. As part of this, several nationals, including Bangladeshis, have been repatriated in multiple batches. On June 8 this year, 42 Bangladeshis were brought back on a chartered flight, and between March 6 and April 21, at least 34 more were repatriated on multiple flights. From the start of 2024 to August this year, over 220 Bangladeshis have been repatriated from the United States.

Under U.S. law, immigrants residing without valid documents can be sent back to their home country by court order or administrative directive. If asylum applications are rejected, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arranges their deportation. Recently, the use of chartered and military flights has increased to expedite this process.