US deports first batch of undocumented Indian migrants as Trump follows through with threats

Washington: The US began deporting the first batch of undocumented Indian migrants since President Donald Trump returned to office threatening trade action against countries who didn’t comply with his immigration policies.

An aircraft with 205 people residing illegally in the US will land on Wednesday in Amritsar in India’s northern state of Punjab, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.

Each deported Indian national is verified, a source told NDTV, indicating New Delhi’s involvement in the deportation process. This is likely the first of many such flights that will bring illegal Indian immigrants in the US back.

A C-17 US military aircraft is bringing the Indian nationals back home. Here is a trivia — unless fitted with an air-transportable galley, the US Air Force C-17 has a single toilet onboard for 205 passengers, NDTV said.

The first round of deportation of illegal Indian nationals has taken amid reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would fly to the US next week. This will be his first visit after Trump took over as US President for the second time. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had earlier said New Delhi is open to the “legitimate return” of Indian nationals living ‘illegally’ abroad, including in the US.

“For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came,” Trump told reporters last month.

The US President has said Modi had assured him that India “will do what’s right” when it comes to taking back illegal Indian immigrants. According to a Bloomberg News report, India and the US have identified 18,000-odd Indian migrants who entered the US illegally.

The Ministry of External Affairs has said India is against illegal immigration because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.

“For Indians not just in the United States, but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals and they are overstaying, or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality and that they are indeed Indians. If that happens to be the case, we will take things forward and facilitate their return to India,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a press briefing.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in New Delhi said the US is “vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants”. “These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk,’’ the spokesperson said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not offer an immediate comment. Bloomberg earlier reported that the South Asian nation is willing to take back 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants from the US.

While the total number of undocumented Indian migrants in the US isn’t certain, a report published last year by the Department of Homeland Security pegged the number at around 220,000 as of 2022.

In his first weeks in office, Trump has urged federal and local authorities to ramp up detention and deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed the US military to the southern border and carried out deportation flights.