India Prepared To Identify and Take Back Citizens Residing Illegally In United States

According to Bloomberg, India is prepared to identify and take back all its citizens residing illegally in the United States.

“The two countries have together identified some 18,000 illegal Indian migrants in the US to be sent back home,” Bloomberg wrote.

However, the total figure could be higher.

BREAKING: India’s government is prepared to work with Donald Trump’s administration to identify and take back approximately 18,000 Indian citizens residing illegally in the United States – Bloomberg

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Per Bloomberg:

Like several other nations, India is working behind the scenes to appease the Trump administration and avoid the brunt of its trade threats. The crackdown on illegal migration has been a signature campaign pledge for Trump. Within hours of his inauguration Monday, the new president moved to fulfill that pledge as he pushed to end birthright citizenship and mobilize troops on the US-Mexico border.

In return for its cooperation, India hopes that the Trump administration would protect legal immigration channels used by its citizens to enter the US, in particular the student visas and the H-1B program for skilled workers. Indian citizens accounted for almost three-fourths of the 386,000 H-1B visas granted in 2023, according to official data.

Any slack in taking back illegal US migrants could also adversely affect India’s labor and mobility agreements with other countries, the people familiar with the matter said. With a jobs shortage back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has signed migration agreements with an array of countries in recent years, including Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Israel and others.

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India will repatriate 18,000 illegal nationals from the US under Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In return, India pushes to expand legal migration pathways, including H-1B visas and student permits.

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“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,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, according to Bloomberg.

“The latest deportation of Indian nationals from the US by a chartered flight is a result of this cooperation,” Jaiswal added.

India’s government is prepared to work with Donald Trump’s administration to identify and take back all its citizens residing illegally in the US https://t.co/xIgk3d5aje

— Bloomberg (@business) January 21, 2025

From The Economic Times:

While the total number of illegal Indian migrants in the US isn’t certain, a report published last year by the Department of Homeland Security estimated some 220,000 unauthorized Indian immigrants resided in the US as of 2022.

India has already sought to show a cooperative attitude toward US border enforcement efforts, including toward officials in the Biden administration. In October, the Department of Homeland Security said it chartered a “large-scale” repatriation flight of more than 100 Indian nationals without the right to be the US, building on the more than 1,100 Indian citizens deported during the previous 12 months.

Taking back illegal migrants could also further Modi’s goal of deterring secessionist movements overseas, according to people familiar with the discussions, including the so-called Khalistan movement, which seeks to establish a separate Sikh state on Indian soil. India has cracked down on the movement, and officials believe some of the group’s backers in the US and Canada are illegal migrants.

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