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US repatriates undocumented migrants from India
US acting deputy secretary of homeland security said Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the US are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted a “charter removal flight” to return an unspecified number of Indian nationals who couldn’t “establish legal basis” to remain in the United States, according to an official statement.
The statement, issued by the US embassy, did not specify how many Indian nationals were on the flight that was operated on October 22. People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the deportation of Indian nationals by a chartered flight was the result of ongoing bilateral cooperation to deter illegal migration.
“On October 22, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through US 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,” the statement said.
The move demonstrated the DHS’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 said.
The people cited above said India and the US are engaged in deterring illegal migration as part of cooperation on migration and mobility. “This is being done to create more avenues for legal migration from India to the US,” one of the people said.
“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 person added.
The US statement said DHS swiftly returns people without a legal basis to remain in the United States as part of efforts to enforce immigration laws and “deliver tough consequences for those who enter [the country] unlawfully”.
“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%,” the statement 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 Kristie A Canegallo, the acting deputy secretary of homeland security.
Since June this year, the DHS has removed or returned more than 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries, including India. Among the other countries to which the DHS removed individuals over the last year are Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan and China.
The DHS engages with foreign governments to accept repatriations of their nationals without a legal basis to remain in the US. It also promotes the use of safe, lawful and orderly pathways for migration, and holds “transnational criminal networks accountable for smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people”.
