A total of 205 Indian nationals, who had illegally entered the US, have been deported on a US military aircraft that took off from Texas about six hours back, sources have told NDTV. The sources said each deported Indian national is verified, indicating New Delhi’s involvement in the deportation process. This is likely the first of many such flights that will bring illegal Indian immigrants in the US back.
A C-17 US military aircraft is bringing the Indian nationals back home. Here is a trivia — unless fitted with an air-transportable galley, the US Air Force C-17 has a single toilet onboard for 205 passengers.
The deportation of illegal migrants is in line with US President Donald Trump’s hardline stand against illegal immigrants in the US. Earlier, US military aircraft flew illegal immigrants deported to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
The first round of deportation of illegal Indian nationals has taken amid reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would fly to the US next week. This will be his first visit after Trump took over as US President for the second time. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had earlier said New Delhi is open to the “legitimate return” of Indian nationals living ‘illegally’ abroad, including in the US.
“For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came,” Trump told reporters last month.
The US President has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India “will do what’s right” when it comes to taking back illegal Indian immigrants. According to a Bloomberg News report, India and the US have identified 18,000-odd Indian migrants who entered the US illegally.
The Ministry of External Affairs has said India is against illegal immigration because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.
“For Indians not just in the United States, but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals and they are overstaying, or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that 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,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a press briefing.
A spokesperson for the US Embassy in New Delhi said the US is “vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants”. “These actions send a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk,” the spokesperson said.