Washington DC:

US President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk a video posted by the White House showing immigrants in shackles being prepared to board a deportation flight from Seattle. The footage shared by the White House on social media showed illegal immigrants being put in cuffs and shackles while being prepared to board a deportation flight.

It showed the law enforcement officials lifting heavy chains attached to handcuffs and shackles chains from a basket and arranged on the airport tarmac alongside four additional sets of restraints before they were put on the migrants as they boarded the plane.

The White House labelled the footage as an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video. ASMR refers to a tingly feeling some people experience when watching videos featuring unusual sounds, like whispering or fingernails tapping on a surface.

The video was later reposted by Elon Musk on his X handle with the caption “Haha wow”.

Haha wow https://t.co/PXFXpiGU0U

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2025

The post caught further flak from netizens who dubbed Musk’s reaction as “disgusting” and “dehumanising.”

“This is disgusting. The fact that you think this is funny speaks volumes,” commented an X user on Musk’s post. 

“You are pathetic, @elonmusk. A small man who laughs at a video of undocumented immigrants in shackles boarding a plan for being deported,” wrote another.

Another X user pointed out that the treatment of deportees by the US government was not just sad but also “dehumanising”.

US President Donald Trump has launched a massive crackdown on immigration, with illegal migrants, including Indians, being deported to their homelands. Thousands of undocumented immigrants have already been sent back, including those from Guatemala, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China among other countries.

However, questions have been raised over the treatment mated to these deported immigrants as they are being hackled and handcuffed on their way back home. 

When faced with difficulty directly deporting some migrants to their homelands, the US is also using Panama as a “stopover”, with Costa Rica expected to receive a similar flight of third-country deportees later today (February 19).