Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 19 Feb 2025, 03:45 am Print

Chained and handcuffed deportees moving towards flight.Photo Courtesy: ICE Seattle X page
The White House has released a video which showed undocumented immigrants, in a shackled state being led to a deportation flight in the US city of Seattle, triggering a fresh controversy.
The 41-second video is titled 'ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight'.
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.
It refers to calming sounds that trigger pleasant sensations.
ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight ? pic.twitter.com/O6L1iYt9b4
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 18, 2025
The videos showed the immigrants handcuffed and their feet chained.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk reposted the video by captioning it as: "Haha wow."
He also added a medal and an alien emoji.
The video was originally shared by the Seattle office of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on X.
The video was posted with the remark: "REMOVAL FLIGHTA group of undocumented aliens are flown from Seattle as part of a process to finalize return to their home countries."
The two videos, however, were slightly different.
Internet Users Fumed
Meanwhile, a large number of X users criticised the video and called the move as 'inhuman'.
One of the internet users wrote in the comment section below Elon Musk's post, "This is not just sad—it is dehumanizing. They are not only being torn from their homes but also stripped of their last shred of dignity. Why so much hatred? Why take pleasure in the humiliation of others?"
Another said: "Why do they need to chain them so heavily?"
"Regardless of immigration status, human dignity must be respected. Deportation is a serious matter, not entertainment. We should prioritize humane policies and fair treatment for all individuals," one X user said.
Donald Trump has launched a severe crackdown on undocumented immigrants ever since his inauguration on January 20.
Federal agencies have been carrying out large scale arrests and deportations across the USA since Trump took charge of the government in his second term.
Indian Deportees
Three flights carrying Indian illegal immigrants have arrived in India in the past few days.
A similar video showing Indian deportees was also shared by the US earlier.
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