A US deportation flight carrying 104 Indian nationals accused of illegally entering the United States has landed in Punjab, marking the latest in a series of removals under Washington’s intensified immigration enforcement.
The military aircraft departed from Texas late Tuesday and touched down in Amritsar, where authorities had prepared special processing measures for the returnees. The individuals are being handled separately from regular travelers and will be transported to their home states, including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.
This deportation comes amid a broader crackdown spearheaded by former US President Donald Trump, who has made mass removals of undocumented immigrants a key policy objective. The US government has identified approximately 18,000 Indian nationals who allegedly entered the country illegally, with Trump claiming that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him of cooperation in accepting repatriations.
The use of military planes for such deportations is increasing, with similar flights having taken place in the past. In the US fiscal year 2024, which ended in September, over 1,000 Indian nationals were returned through charter and commercial flights. In October, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported more than 100 Indian nationals in a chartered flight, a move reflecting the growing number of removals.
Most of these deportees originate from Punjab and Haryana, regions historically known for high migration to the US. Gujarat, Modi’s home state, has also been a notable source.
Royce Bernstein Murray, Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security, previously highlighted the increasing encounters with Indian nationals at US borders in recent years. “This corresponds with a general increase in encounters that we have seen with Indian nationals attempting to cross into the US,” Murray said in October.
According to ICE data, 5,477 Indian nationals were deported from the US between 2018 and 2023, with 2,300 removals recorded in 2020 alone – the highest in recent years.
The number of undocumented Indian immigrants in the US remains a matter of debate. Pew Research Center estimates the figure at 725,000 as of 2022, making Indians the third-largest group of undocumented migrants after Mexico and El Salvador. However, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) places the number at 375,000, ranking India fifth among source countries.
As of November, 1.44 million non-citizens in the US remain on ICE’s deportation docket with final removal orders. India accounts for 17,940 of these cases, ranking among the top nations with pending deportations.
Despite ongoing removals, the US faces challenges in deporting individuals to certain countries. ICE considers 15 nations, including India, China, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, as “uncooperative” in repatriation efforts.
India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has reiterated the country’s opposition to illegal migration, emphasizing its links to organized crime. He noted that India is working with the US to deter unlawful migration while also expanding legal avenues for Indians seeking to enter America.
“As part of India-US migration and mobility cooperation, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration while also creating more avenues for legal migration from India to the US,” Jaiswal said. However, he added that the Indian government must conduct verification procedures, including nationality checks, before accepting deportees.
While mass deportations have escalated under Trump, the process was also prevalent under his predecessor, Joe Biden, with 271,000 migrants deported to 192 countries last year.
Credit: BBC