Trump govt sending 205 illegal Indian migrants back home

New Delhi: A US military plane is deporting illegal Indian migrants, implementing US President Donald Trump's position against an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. The C-17 aircraft, carrying 205 Indian nationals, departed San Antonio, Texas, around 3 am IST. It is learnt that these migrants faced various criminal charges and the flight could land in north India. The move comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit between February 12-13.

A US embassy spokesperson here said, "The United States 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 Indian side is yet to react. This is the first batch of illegal immigrants from India to be deported since Trump's return to office.

There are about 20,000 illegal immigrants from India who are ready to be deported by the US immigration authorities and an estimated 725,000 illegal Indian immigrants in the US.


India's position is that it is ready to accept illegal immigrants from the US after verification. This message was conveyed by external affairs minister S Jaishankar last month when he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"Illegal immigration is often linked to other unlawful activities. It is neither desirable nor beneficial for our reputation. If any of our citizens are found to be in the US illegally, and we verify their citizenship, we are open to their lawful return to India," he had said.

Trump, who spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had also said that Modi told him that he will do what is right - indicating that India is ready to take back the illegal immigrants.

Of late, the US military has been involved in immigration enforcement, deploying additional troops to the US-Mexico border, using military facilities to accommodate migrants and employing planes for deportations.