39 Bangladeshis deported from US arrive in Dhaka
They were flown back on a special military aircraft (C-17), which landed at 6:45am today at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
A total of 39 Bangladeshi nationals, including one woman, were deported from the United States and arrived in Dhaka today (2 August).
They were flown back on a special military aircraft (C-17), which landed at 6:45am at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, an officer of the Immigration Department of the Special Branch (SB) of police confirmed to The Business Standard.
Upon their arrival, the returnees were provided with transportation assistance by Brac, while food support was arranged by the expatriates' welfare desk, Brac Migration Programme said in a press release.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Several of the deportees alleged that they were kept in handcuffs throughout the long flight from the US.
"We are not criminals. We simply sought asylum. But we were treated like dangerous prisoners," said one of the returnees.
Commenting on the deportation, Shariful Hasan, associate director of Brac Migration Programme and Youth Platform, said, "From what we have learned, most of them had sold their homes or taken heavy loans to finance the journey -- some spending as much as Tk30 to Tk40 lakh -- trying to reach the US in an irregular approach through Mexico or various South American countries."
Upon reaching the US, they applied for asylum, but their applications were rejected by the courts and immigration authorities, Shariful said, adding that the US administration later decided to deport them.
