Washington, Feb 4 (IANS) India’s proactive stance on illegal immigration and streamlining legal mobility has come in for praise as an India-bound US C-17 military aircraft, carrying around 200 deported illegal migrants left Texas earlier today, marking President Donald Trump’s first crackdown on illegal immigrants from India after assuming office last month.
The move comes after detailed discussions held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump over a phone call on January 27 and ahead of PM Modi’s forthcoming February 13-14 visit to Washington.
Similar deportation flights have left for Guatemala, Peru, Honduras and other countries since January 24 as the US President has vowed to crack down on illegal migration that has been the highlight of his Presidential election campaign. Within hours of taking office for the second time, Trump had decided to put an end to birthright citizenship and mobilise troops along the US-Mexico border.
“New Delhi has been proactive in saying that we also have no reason to support illegal immigration and that we would, as in the past, cooperate in deportation of those who have been identified by our authorities as Indian citizens. At the same time, there is a push from the US side to try and ensure that legal migration is streamlined which is an important source of talent for the country. For us, a lot of our talented young people would have opportunities if these aspects are simplified, whether it is access to H-1b visas or green cards, I think this should be a part of the narrative with the United States,” Former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla recently told IANS.
After the January 27 phone conversation, the first between the two leaders since Trump’s 2.0 inauguration on January 20, the US President said that India “will do what’s right” on the issue of deportation of illegal migrants.
The discussions also ranged around security issues and trade in what the White House had described as a “productive call”.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had earlier stated that New Delhi is open to the “legitimate return” of Indian nationals living “illegally” abroad, including in the US.
“We have always taken the view that if there are any of our citizens, who are not here legally, if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India. So it’s not a position unique to the US,” EAM Jaishankar told reporters in Washington, last month.
He affirmed that India’s position on the issue has been “consistent” and “principled” and he did clearly convey this to the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I understand right now that there is a certain debate going on and a resulting sensitivity which is there. But we have been consistent, we have been very principled about it, and that remains our position, and I conveyed that very clearly to US State Secretary Marco Rubio,” he added.
According to immigration statistics published on the website of US Customs and Border Protection, over 90,000 Indians entered the US illegally in 2022-23.
In the US fiscal year 2024, which ended in September, more than 1,000 Indian nationals had been repatriated by charter and commercial flights, according to the then Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security, Royce Bernstein Murray.
In October last year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Indians back home, marking a growing trend in deportations to India.
The US hired a chartered flight to deport Indian nationals who were staying in the country illegally, the Department of Homeland Security had said, noting that this has been done in cooperation with the Indian government.
Since the process of deportation began, the Indian government has been willing to cooperate with the Trump administration to identify and take back all its citizens residing illegally in the US. It was a clear sign that New Delhi wants to strengthen its bilateral ties with the US and avoid any tensions.
“India has been firmly opposed to illegal migration, especially as it is linked to other forms of organised crime. As part of India-US migration and mobility cooperation, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration, while also creating more avenues for legal migration from India to the US. We are keen to continue this cooperation. At the same time, the Government of India would need to do the required verification, including nationality of the concerned individuals before they are deported to India,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on January 31.
India is also hopeful that the US administration would protect legal immigration channels used by its citizens to enter the US such as student visas and the H-1B programme for skilled workers.
Indian citizens accounted for almost three-fourths of the 386,000 H-1B visas granted in 2023, according to official data.
During his Washington visit, EAM Jaishankar had also emphasised that India is very much supportive of ‘legal mobility’ between two countries and wants Indian skills and talent to have great opportunity at the global level.
“As a government, we obviously are very much supportive of legal mobility because we do believe in a global workplace. We want Indian talent and Indian skills to have the maximum opportunity at a global level,” the EAM said.
Jaishankar, in his meeting with Rubio, also pointed out the long waiting period for getting US visas, and said it is not serving the relationship well.
“I also told him (Rubio) that, while we understand all of this, and I also accept that these are autonomous processes, it is in our mutual interest to facilitate legal and mutually beneficial mobility. If it takes 400 odd days of waiting period to get a visa, I don’t think the relationship is well served by this. So I think he also noted that point,” he said.
India’s proactive stand on facilitating the return of illegal Indian migrants in the US is seen as a move to address a key concern of the Trump administration as New Delhi prepares to navigate more complicated issues, including trade and tariffs.
–IANS
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