Amid political uproar over the deportation of more than 100 illegal Indian immigrants by the United States, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that deportation by US authorities was “not new”.
The Minister disclosed that a total of 15,756 Indians had been deported from the US since 2009.
"The process of deportation (by the US) is not new... it has been there for years. This is not a policy applicable to only one country. Our focus should be on the crackdown on illegal migrants... We are engaging with the US to ensure deportees are not mistreated," Jaishankar said.
According to the data presented, 2019 recorded the highest number of deportations, with 2,042 Indians sent back, followed by 1,889 in 2020.
Year-wise deportation data
- 2009: 734
- 2010: 799
- 2011: 597
- 2012: 530
- 2013: 515
- 2014: 591
- 2015: 708
- 2016: 1,303
- 2017: 1,024
- 2018: 1,180
- 2019: 2,042
- 2020: 1,889
- 2021: 805
- 2022: 862
- 2023: 617
- 2024: 1,368
- 2025 (till February 5): 104
Controversial deportation methods
A US military aircraft carrying 104 deported Indian nationals landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, marking the first such deportation batch under the Donald Trump administration.
The group included 33 from Haryana, 33 from Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, and others from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh.
Many of the deportees had spent exorbitant sums, often sourced through loans, in pursuit of legal entry to the US. Instead, they endured arduous multi-country treks arranged by human traffickers.
A video released by US Border Patrol showed migrants in handcuffs and shackles, shuffling in a manner typically associated with hardened criminals.
The sight triggered fierce criticism from opposition MPs, with Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale questioning why the Indian government could not send an aircraft to repatriate its citizens with dignity.
"We are the fifth-largest economy in the world... when countries like Colombia, which don't even figure in the top 10, can send an aircraft and bring their citizens back with dignity, what stops our government from sending an aircraft? We don't have a shortage of these," Gokhale said.
In response, Jaishankar stated that deportation operations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been standard since 2012 and involved restraints.
"Deportations by the US are organised and executed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities. The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by ICE has been effective since 2012. I repeat, that is effective from 2012 and provides for the use of restraints. However, we have been informed by ICE that women and children are not restrained. Further, the needs of deportees including during transit, related to food and other necessities, including possible medical emergencies are attended to. During toilet breaks, deportees are temporarily unrestrained if needed in that regard," the Minister clarified.
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