A video of an Indian student being handcuffed and held down at a US airport before being deported has gone viral on social media. The video was shared by Kunal Jain, an MIT graduate, who said the student was treated “like a criminal.”
The incident took place at Newark Airport in New Jersey. Kunal Jain, who was also at the airport, said he saw the young Indian student crying, confused, and scared. Jain mentioned that the student was supposed to fly back to India with him but never got on the plane.
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Jain posted on social media:
“I saw a young Indian student being deported last night. He was crying, handcuffed, and treated like a criminal. He came to the US with dreams, not to harm anyone. As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken.”
He also said that the student might be from Haryana based on his accent. In the video, the student can be heard shouting, “I am not crazy… they are hell-bent on proving I am crazy!”
Jain tagged the Indian Embassy and India’s Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, asking them to look into the matter and help the student, whose parents may not even know what is happening to him.
Rising Number of Deportations
The incident comes amid a rising number of deportations of Indian nationals from the US. Since Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, over 1,080 Indians have been deported, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
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One of them was Ranjini Srinivasan, a 37-year-old PhD student from Columbia University. Her student visa was canceled after she was accused of being a “terror sympathizer.” She chose to go to Canada instead of staying in the US. In an interview with Al Jazeera, she said she felt betrayed by Columbia University.
“I worked extremely hard for five years. Sometimes I worked 100 hours a week. I never thought my university would let me down — but it did,” she said.
This incident has raised serious concerns about how Indian students and immigrants are being treated in the US.
