US-India migration cooperation reason behind latest deportation of illegal Indian migrants from US

The United States has deported a batch of Indian nationals who did not have proper legal papers and documentation to live in the country.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a statement on Friday said that it has used a chartered flight to send Indian nationals back to India on October 22.

According to sources, as part of India-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 by a chartered flight is a result of this cooperation. Such deportations have been happening for several years,” the sources said.

According to a statement by the DHS, “On October 22, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a large-frame charter removal flight to the Republic of India of Indian nationals who did not establish legal basis to remain in the United States,”.

“This week’s flight demonstrates the Department’s continued commitment to pursuing sustained cooperation with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling,” it further said.

DHS said that it continues to enforce US immigration laws and deliver tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully. “This includes swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, while encouraging the use of lawful pathways,” it said.

“Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie A Canegallo. “The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce our nation’s laws,” he said.

As per the DHS, since June 2024, when the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and accompanying Interim Final Rule went into effect, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border have decreased by 55 per cent.

Since June 2024, DHS removed or returned over 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries–including India, the Department of Homeland Security statement read.