Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified the use of a military aircraft for deporting Indian 'aliens' from the US, citing it as a national security operation. He mentioned ongoing efforts to verify the citizenship of 298 identified individuals out of 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders.

On Wednesday, a US Air Force cargo plane landed in Amritsar, India, carrying 104 Indian nationals who had entered the US illegally, according to a US government statement.

The flight appeared to be the first use of an American military aircraft to deport people to India, which is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the United States.

A U.S. military aircraft carrying scores of undocumented Indian nationals landed in northern India on Wednesday morning, according to a Reuters video.

Reports that deported migrants had faced mistreatment stirred an uproar in India ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Washington.

The military deportation flight to Guatemala likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant, according to data provided by US and Guatemalan officials.

US civilian authorities also shackle migrants by their ankles and wrists, but deportation flights to India are rare. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had three flights to the city of Amritsar last year, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data.

Chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports the latest from the Pentagon.

At least 104 Indian citizens were deported from the United States Tuesday night on a military aircraft, according to officials from India’s Punjab state, as US President Donald Trump makes stemming migration a top priority.