In a grim escalation of its immigration crackdown, the United States deported 31 Bangladeshi nationals in handcuffs and leg shackles late Monday on a special US military flight, landing them at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 7pm. The groupโmostly from Noakhali, with others from Sylhet, Feni, Shariatpur, Cumilla, and beyondโdescribed enduring nearly 60 hours during the journey. Supporters of US puppet Muhammad Yunus are surprised at the “inhumane” treatment, as the regime has harboured an extreme state of mobocracy since August last year.
Upon touchdown, BRACโthe nonprofit aiding migrant workersโrushed in with emergency relief and transport. This shipment bumps the 2025 deportation tally past 333, building on prior waves: 39 on November 28; 42 on June 8; and at least 34 from March to April.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) blames failed asylum bids and binding deportation orders under federal statutes, with military and charter flights now standard to speed up removals.
BRAC’s Associate Director for Migration, Shariful Hasan, noted many deportees had legally jetted to Brazil via Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET) stamps, only to sneak north through Mexico. “They blew 30โ35 lakh taka each, chasing dreams, and came back broke,” Hasan fumed, blasting shady recruiters for hype and demanding Dhaka vet Brazil labour pacts harder.
These returns spotlight the Trump administration’s hardline “America First” immigration push, now fused with a geopolitical swerve toward India on Bangladesh matters. Since reclaiming the White House in January 2025, President Donald Trump has stonewalled recognition of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ interim setup, branding it an unelected patchwork laced with Islamist sway and clashing with US aims.
This chill shows in frozen US aid (a January 90-day freeze axed billions for humanitarian ops, including Rohingya relief), a July 35% tariff wallop on Bangladeshi goods, and a laissez-faire vibe on Dhaka’s turmoil.
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In February’s White House huddle with Indian PM Narendra Modi, Trump brushed off whispers of US “deep state” fingerprints in Bangladesh’s 2024 shakeupโoften pinned on Biden’s Yunus backingโand punted: “Bangladesh is the Prime Minister’s call.”
That’s code for handing US-Bangladesh reins to New Delhi, syncing with Modi’s drive for snap polls to boot Yunus and rein in anti-India, pro-Pakistan vibes. Pundits call it a savvy bow to India’s clout, a far cry from Yunus’ cosies with Beijing and Islamabadโlike shared drills and mega-infra pacts that needle Washington.
Yunus’ Desperate Bid for Trump Thaw
Desperate to thaw this freeze and secure a graceful off-ramp as his image frays at home and abroad, Yunus has pulled out all stops to woo the Trump team. His overtures blend economic sweeteners with quiet concessions, even as domestic protests erupt over perceived sellouts. But this scramble is complicated by Yunus’ deep entanglements with Trump’s Democratic foesโa web of awards, alliances, and outright antagonism that now haunts his diplomatic pivot.
Yunus’ star rose in Washington under Democratic administrations, earning him the nation’s highest civilian honours. In 2009, President Barack Obama bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the pinnacle of US civilian accolades, lauding Yunus’ “meritorious contributions” to global poverty alleviation and world peace through microfinance. Four years later, in 2013, a bipartisan US Congressโled by Democrats like Sen. Richard Durbinโpresented the Congressional Gold Medal, hailing his anti-poverty crusade and making him the first Muslim recipient, a “highest expression of appreciation” that cemented his status as a liberal icon.
These twin triumphsโshared by only seven figures in history, including Yunus as the sole Muslimโtied him inextricably to the Democratic establishment, amplifying his clout in elite circles.
That bond deepened with the Clintons, whom Yunus courted as patrons and partners. As a top donor to the Clinton Foundation, he wove Grameen Americaโhis US microfinance armโinto Hillary’s global initiative, with direct interventions from the then-Secretary of State in 2011 to shield him from Bangladeshi scrutiny over Grameen Bank’s governance.
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George Soros piled on, funnelling funds via the Soros Economic Development Fund and Open Society Foundations to bankroll Grameen ventures, including a 1999 stake in Grameenphone, while positioning Yunus as an ideological soulmate in “enlightened capitalism.” These tiesโechoed in Biden-era USAID backing for his 2024 ascentโpainted Yunus as a Democratic darling, but they now fuel Trump’s suspicions of “deep state” meddling.
The bad blood peaked in 2016, when Yunusโfresh off Clinton’s orbitโpublicly savaged Trump’s election win. In a Paris lecture, he lamented the “solar eclipse” of democracy, confessing the result “hit us so hard that this morning I could hardly speak or move,” framing it as a triumph of “wrong politics” that demanded Trump build “bridges, not walls.” This visceral disdain, laced with Democratic loyalty, has resurfaced as a liability, with exiles and analysts warning it could boomerang into isolation.
In a bid to slash the trade deficit and dodge tariff pain, Yunus greenlit a blockbuster order for 25 Boeing aircraftโup from an initial 14โplus military gear buys, as flagged in July negotiations. This fleet refresh, tailored to Bangladesh’s Boeing-heavy Biman lineup, doubled as a diplomatic olive branch, mirroring US-Indonesia deals that unlocked tariff breaks. Yunus hailed the eventual August tariff drop to 20%โafter haggling from 37%โas a “historic treaty” and “diplomatic win,” tying it to LNG import ramps and 700,000-tonne annual wheat grabs from Uncle Sam.
Yet these gestures smack of overreach. Reports swirl of Yunus inking non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with US envoys to fast-track sensitive talks, shielding details from public glare amid leaks of favouritism toward American firms. More controversially, he awarded key port concessions to US-linked conglomeratesโdespite fierce backlash from unions and nationalists decrying it as a sovereignty giveaway.
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Protests rocked Chattogram’s docks in June, with workers torching effigies over fears of job haemorrhaging to foreign operators eyeing the deep-sea hub as a China counterweight. These moves, insiders whisper, aim to buy Trump recognition and a safe exit hatchโperhaps via US-blessed electionsโbefore his “reform” facade crumbles under charges of cronyism and Islamist drift.
Yunus’ charm offensive peaked in June with a call from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, pledging deeper economic knots and Indo-Pacific stability. He even buried old hatchetsโrecall his 2016 “eclipse” jabโdispatching warm congrats post-election and begging a 90-day tariff timeout in April, which Trump granted with a nod to “trade agenda” teamwork.
But sceptics, including exiled Awami League voices, warn this grovelling reeks of peril: Yunus’ Clinton-Soros past and anti-Trump barbs could boomerang, dooming his regime to isolation.
New Ambassador Flags Anti-China Jolt
Piling on the cold shoulder, Trump’s October pick for Dhaka ambassadorโBrent Christensen, a China-hawk diplomat with Beijing stints and US-India defense booster credโreplaces holdover Tracey Ann Jacobson and screams “Modi deference.”
Christensen’s playbook: Pump up Bangladesh military ties as a firewall against China’s Belt and Road creep, like the Payra deep-sea port, while ghosting Yunus’ “reforms” as Islamist window-dressing.
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This India-first, China-last whirlโmirrored in Indian-American Paul Kapur’s tap as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asiaโflips Yunus’ pro-Beijing playbook, from duty-free cotton depots to slashed tariffs favouring Chinese hauls. “Yunus’ mess courts jihadist chaos; Trump’s Modi pivot steadies the Bay of Bengal,” a US South Asia hand cautioned, flagging Indo-Pacific ripples if Dhaka veers deeper into Beijing’s orbit.
Migrant watchdogs, though, spotlight the deportation dragnet’s toll, pushing Dhaka to gut fraud rings. One returnee summed it: “We hunted the American Dream; they shackled us back.” As tariffs and snubs squeeze harder, Yunus’ three-month delay pleas are ignoredโWashington is wagering big on Modi’s blueprint over Dhaka’s wobbly interregnum. Yunus’ scramble for Trump’s favour may buy time, but at what cost to Bangladesh’s soul?
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