Washington, May 18: The United States this week will deport 161 Indian nationals, most of whom had entered the country from its southern border with Mexico and have exhausted all legal options. A special chartered flight will take them to Punjab's Amritsar.

Among those on the list to be deported, the maximum 76 are from Haryana, followed by 56 from Punjab; 12 from Gujarat; five from Uttar Pradesh; four from Maharashtra ; two each from Kerala, Telengana and Tamil Nadu; and each from Andhra Pradesh and Goa.

According to Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director, North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), they are from among the 1,739 Indians languishing in 95 jails across the US.

They were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE while trying to enter the United States illegally. According to an ICE report, the US deported 611 Indian nationals in 2018, which rose over two-and-a-half times to 1,616 in 2019.

NAPA said among the 161 to be deported to India, three are women. The youngest of them are two 19-year-old youths from Haryana. “The fate of the remaining Indians languishing in the US jails is still unknown,” Chahal said.

Though there is no data to show from which Indian states those languishing in the US jails came, most of them are believed to be from North India. Most detainees had asked for an asylum, claiming that they experienced violence or persecution in their home country. Over the past a few years, US judges did not buy their argument and dismissed their applications.

Chahal, who has been working among them for years, alleged that there is a nexus of human traffickers and officials in north India, especially Punjab, who encourage young people to leave their homes and illegally enter the US. These middlemen and agents charge Rs 35-50 lakh from each individual.

In a statement, Chahal urged the Punjab government and the Centre to take action against illegal agents. PTI LKJ RDK RDK RDK 05180732 NNNNon that. The only difference is there's no real one-one-one time with me yet. They'll probably just have to send me their edit and then I'll just have to watch them and talk to them on the phone."

There would be several intriguing matchups if the NBA resumes the season with the start of the postseason. Nurse and Toronto would be the No. 2 seed in the East and would host No. 7 Brooklyn. Other matchups would be: No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 8 Orlando; No. 3 Boston vs No. 6 Philadelphia; No. 4 Miami vs No. 5 Indiana.

In the West: No. 1 LA Lakers vs No. 8 Memphis; No. 2 LA Clippers vs No. 7 Dallas, No. 3 Denver vs No. 6 Houston; No. 4 Utah vs No. 5 Oklahoma City. As good as the match-ups look on paper there could be some sloppy postseason basketball.

Celtics center Enes Kanter estimates it would take a minimum two to three weeks for players to get their bodies in game shape. Part of the reason, he said, is the shear time players have had away from the court. Kanter believes a second training camp-like period would probably be needed.

"You can't just say 'OK, we're going to play the games a week later.' Some players are doing some things. Some players are in their apartments not doing anything,” Kanter said during a conference call. "We need to make sure everybody is doing their stuff and is in good shape to go out there and compete if we jump straight into playoffs."

Kanter said a training camp setting would also help players refocus. He said while he's staying in shape, he's also taken up other endeavors to avoid going stir crazy such as reading, watching documentaries and teaching himself to cook and play the piano. It is clear time is not the NBA's friend.

Monday marked the 26th day of the shutdown, a stoppage that has already cost the league more than 100 games. And the CDC is recommending that all in-person events involving 10 or more people be extended through the end of April as the U.S. fights the spread of the pandemic. That extends beyond the 30-day shutdown the NBA put in place March 11.

Kanter said if a decision is made to jump straight to the postseason, he hopes the length of the series won't be affected. "We're competitors, man. We want to go out there and push through and finish the season," he said. "It's crazy because we have a really good chance to go out there and get a championship. So, it's like for sure you want to go out there and compete."

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