NEW DELHI: The US military plane carrying 104
illegal Indian immigrants
landed in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon, marking the Donald Trump-
administration’s first crackdown on the country’s migrants after assuming office. The official confirmation on the number of deportees are still awaited.
A total of 30 deportees aboard the flight were residents of Punjab. Further, 33 deportees are each are from Haryana and Gujarat, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh, PTI reporting citing sources. Earlier, there were reports of 205 illegal Indian immigrants being deported.
The flight landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport amidst tight security from Punjab Police at 1.55pm.
Amritsar airport director, deputy commissioner, commissioner of police, and CIF director had held a meeting and the police barricaded the cargo gate and another entry point at the airport as a part of the security measure.
An official on Tuesday had confirmed that a C-17 aircraft carrying migrants had departed for India.
This comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the States, where he is also scheduled to meet Trump and hold talks with him.
Deportation after Modi-Trump conversation on immigration
PM Modi and Trump had recently held a conversation where they discussed immigration among other matters of global peace and security.
“Discussed immigration with Modi. India will do what is right when it comes to taking back illegal immigrants,” Trump had said of the conversation.
India had assured the US of cooperating in tackling
illegal immigration
by taking back the migrants who had entered America unlawfully.
“We are against illegal immigration, especially because it is linked to several forms of organised crime,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said last month.
“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,” he added.
400% surge in deportations from US
The deportation of Indian nationals from the United States surged by 400% in the past three years, according to the US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) fiscal year 2024 annual report, released in December last year.
The report revealed that in 2024, a total of 1,529 Indians were deported, a significant jump from 292 in 2021. In 2024 alone, one Indian was deported every six hours as part of the US government’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts.
Bloomberg reported last month, citing sources, that both countries have identified around 18,000 illegal Indian migrants for deportation. However, the actual number could be much higher, as the total remains uncertain.
India contributes a small portion of illegal migration to the US, with its citizens accounting for approximately 3% of all unlawful crossings in fiscal 2024, according to US customs and border protection data.
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