India keeps pushing back against illegal migration while encouraging legal ways for its citizens to move abroad. On Friday, the country’s top diplomats made that clear amid a wave of deportations from the United States.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared the latest numbers during a media briefing in New Delhi. “Since January 2025, we’ve seen 2,417 Indian nationals deported or sent back from the US,” he said. He highlighted the recent case of Harjeet Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman from Punjab who arrived back in India on Thursday after US authorities in California detained her during a routine check.
Jaiswal explained how India handles these situations. When someone without legal status in the US claims to be Indian, officials verify their nationality through background checks. Once confirmed, India steps in to bring them home. “We always promote legal pathways for migration, but we stand firm against illegal ones,” he added.
The deportations come as the US ramps up efforts to crack down on illegal migrants under the Trump administration. Harjeet Kaur’s lawyer accused authorities of mistreating her and 131 other deportees on the flight back, including harsh conditions during travel.
Earlier this year, in August, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told India’s Parliament that 1,703 Indian nationals faced deportation from the US between January 20 and July 22, 2025. These returns happened through a mix of US military flights, chartered planes by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and even commercial flights from places like Panama.
India hasn’t stayed quiet on the issue. The government raised strong concerns with US officials about how deportees are treated, especially the use of shackles on women and children. Singh confirmed in a written response to a lawmaker that the Ministry of External Affairs pressed these points directly with American authorities.
As US-India talks on migration continue, these cases spotlight the challenges Indian nationals face abroad and the push for fairer, legal options.
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