As US President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal migrants picks up, a US military plane has departed for India with undocumented Indians onboard, according to reports.
The C-17 aircraft had departed for India with migrants aboard but would not arrive for at least 24 hours, according to Reuters. This is also the farthest destination of the Trump administration's military transport flights for migrants. The US C-17 have so far flown migrants to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
The Pew Research Centre estimates that over 700,000 undocumented Indians are living in the United States, making it the third-largest group behind Mexicans and Salvadorans. As per the figures given by the US government in 2023, over 90,000 Indians were arrested as they tried to enter the country illegally. The remaining are Indians who arrive legally and overstay their visas.
Also read: As Trump begins to shut down border, Jaishankar clears stance on undocumented Indians in US
First illegal migrant deportation flight from the United States.
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Earlier, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said India was firmly opposed to illegal mobility and illegal migration and was open to the US deporting undocumented Indians back to the country.
On whether India was working with the US to deport over 1,80,000 Indians in the US who are there illegally, Jaishankar said: "As a government, we are very much supportive of legal mobility because we do believe in a global workplace. We want Indian talent and Indian skills to have the maximum opportunity at the global level. At the same time, we are also very firmly opposed to illegal mobility and illegal migration," he added.
The deportation comes days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to the US, and the issue is likely to be discussed. The government officials believe the topic is sensitive and can potentially impact the optics.
India has challenges in accepting deportation flights due to logistical and technical hurdles, especially in ensuring the deported people are Indian nationals. Sources indicated that the lack of a national database, the inability to access Aadhaar due to the Supreme Court ruling on privacy and bureaucratic procedures that involve the ministries of external affairs, home affairs and State Police were delaying the process.
However, Indian authorities have claimed that the deportations from the United States to India were not new. Over 1,000 Indians were sent back last year.