By Enyichukwu Enemanna
India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on Thursday threatened a “strong crackdown” on illegal migration, just a day after a US military plane brought back 104 Indian migrants in implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order on migrants.
“It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad,” Jaishankar told parliament.
India was “engaging the US government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight,” he said.
He recalled that the “process of deportation is not a new one”, noting that the United States had expelled more than 15,000 Indians since 2009, almost half of them between 2019-2024.
“Our focus should be on a crackdown, a strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry, while taking steps to ease visas for the legitimate traveller,” Jaishankar said.
In the United States, thousands of unregistered migrants have been arrested since Trump’s inauguration on 20 January.
It is estimated that at least 11 million undocumented migrants will be affected by his executive order aiming to overhaul immigration to the United States.
Chief of the US Border Patrol, Michael W. Banks, said the return of “illegal aliens to India” marked “the farthest deportation flight yet using military transport.”
India is the world’s fifth-largest economy and enjoys steady GDP growth, but despite this, hundreds of thousands of its citizens still leave the country each year seeking better opportunities abroad.
While its citizens are seen across the globe, the United States remains the destination of choice for Indian migrants.
New Delhi is pressing for a more liberal US visa regime for India’s highly skilled pool of engineers, doctors, and other experts.
Indian media have widely reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Washington next week, where he is expected to meet with Trump.
