The spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal, told journalists in Delhi on Friday that “We are against illegal immigration especially because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.”
His remarks were in the context of the Trump administration’s promise to crackdown on illegal immigrants, of whom an estimated 2,20,000 are Indians, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.
Bloomberg reported that India and the US “have together identified 18,000 illegal immigrants in the US to be sent back home.”
Bloomberg quoted Jaiswal as saying that “As part of Indo-US cooperation on migration and mobility, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration. This is being done to create more avenues for legal migration from India to the US.”
“The latest deportation of Indian nationals from the US by a chartered flight is a result of this cooperation,” Jaiswal underscored, referring to the repatriation of Indians last October.
Jaiswal also noted that it was not just about the US. Anywhere in the world, if it was found that Indians nationals were overstaying or were there without proper documentation, “we will take them back provided documents are shared with us so 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.”
Recall that External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, at a briefing in Washington DC two days back, had said “We have always maintained that if any of our citizens are there illegally and if we are sure they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline had earlier announced on Thursday the arrest of 538 migrants and the deportation of hundreds of illegal immigrants.
In a post on X (formerly twitter) she wrote “The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrants including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”
It was not clear if there were any Indians among them and if so how many.
