295 more illegal Indian immigrants will be deported from the US, although the details of their arrival and flight dates have not yet been revealed. The Government of India gave this information in Parliament. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that the Government of India is investigating citizenship of 295 people who are in custody of the US Army. The US government has ordered to send these people back. The Foreign Minister said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on 13 March that only those people whose Indian citizenship would have been verified.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that a total of 388 Indians have been sent from America to India from January 2025 to 13 March. Giving more information in this regard, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told the House that a total of 15,952 Indians have been deported by the US since 2009. In 2019, a maximum of 2,042 Indians were deported.
Earlier on February 5, when illegal migrants were brought from America to India, they allegedly received complaints of misbehavior and handcuffs. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has expressed concern to the US on the matter. However, the government clarified that women migrants were not handcuffed in flights coming from America to India on 15 and 16 February.
On Friday, CPM MP John Brites asked the government in the Rajya Sabha what steps have been taken against the illegal migrants being sent to India by handcuffing. In response, the central government said that India has strongly objected to America’s such behavior. The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the US has assured that women and children were not handcuffed in flights coming on 15 and 16 February and the authorities themselves confirmed this after talking to the migrants when they reached India.
The government also said that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department has recently informed India that 295 more Indian illegal immigrants will be excluded soon. All these are in the custody of American officials and their documents are being investigated. MP John Brites also asked how many Indians are living illegally in America and there are plans to send many back to India. On this, the government said that the US has not shared this information yet. However, since February 5, 388 Indian illegal immigrants have been sent back to India.
It was also questioned why flights returning from America are landing in Amritsar. The government said that 40% of illegal immigrants are from Punjab and 34% come from Haryana, so it is convenient to reach them to their nearest places. According to the central government, between 2009 and 2024, 15,564 Indian illegal immigrants were deported from the US. Since November 2012, the United States has adopted a clear policy to deport illegal immigrants, under which women and children are usually not handcuffed, but the flight officials take final decisions.
