Thirty Bangladeshi nationals were sent back from the United States in handcuffs and shackles on Thursday night when a special chartered flight carrying them landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Among them was one woman.
The deportees were brought to the runway still bound in chains. The shackles were removed only before they were taken to the arrival gate. During this time, no one was allowed to approach them or take photographs.
Officials at the airport said the flight landed just after 11 pm but remained on the runway for three hours while the handcuffs and shackles were removed. Around 2 am, the deportees were brought under tight security to the airport’s arrival area. A special team from the Ministry of Home Affairs, several intelligence units, and officials from the US embassy were present.
According to reports, the NGO Brac provided financial assistance to help the deportees reach their homes. Eyewitnesses described the deportees as “devastated” after the long journey. Abdullah, a 22-year-old from Noakhali, said: “Throughout the journey, I was shackled like a marked criminal. Being sent back is already heartbreaking, but arriving chained like a terrorist made it even worse.”
Since US President Donald Trump began his second term, deportations of illegal immigrants have intensified. Over the past months, at least 180 Bangladeshis have been deported in several phases. Initially, deportees were not handcuffed or shackled, but on August 2, a military transport aircraft carried 39 Bangladeshis—including one woman—bound in chains to Dhaka.
The deportees described enduring nearly 60 hours in chains, sitting in extreme pain and surviving on only bread and water. Even trips to the toilet required escorting and re-shackling.
According to sources from the police Special Branch and the Immigration Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 42 Bangladeshis were deported on a chartered flight on June 8 this year, and from March 6 to April 21, another 34 were sent back.
Most migrants had entered the US through Mexico, Latin America, or other routes, often paying Tk30 lakh to Tk75 lakh. Many of those returned on Thursday reported being held captive in Mexico by human trafficking networks. At least six said they were tortured and their families forced to pay ransoms of Tk40 lakh to Tk50 lakh. Tanzil Hasan of Munshiganj said some were extorted up to Tk75 lakh, forcing them to sell all assets to pay traffickers. He added that countless Bangladeshis remain in captivity under national and international trafficking networks.
A similar deportation in 2016, where 27 Bangladeshis were sent back in handcuffs, sparked strong reactions in Bangladesh, raising human rights concerns and prompting discussions between Dhaka and US authorities.
Migration experts argue that deportees should not be shackled during repatriation, citing violations of international human rights standards. Shariful Hasan, associate director of Brac’s Migration and Youth Platform, said: “People go abroad with the dream of a better life, often paying traffickers large sums. Deporting them in handcuffs is extremely regrettable and causes lifelong trauma. We hope future repatriations will be more humane and that US authorities take this issue seriously.”
