US Begins Deporting Illegal Indian Migrants In Military Plane: Report

An official said a C-17 aircraft had departed for India with migrants aboard but would not arrive for at least 24 hours. There are an estimated 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in US as of 2024.

PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump talked over the phone last week.

Source : PTI

US Deports Indian Migrants: The United States has started deporting illegal migrants to India a week after President Donald Trump said India "will do what's right" on the deportation of illegal migrants following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A US military plane is deporting migrants to India, Reuters reported citing an unnamed US official. This is the farthest destination for migrants on the Trump administration's military transport flights. The official added that a C-17 aircraft had departed for India with migrants aboard but would not arrive for at least 24 hours. 

According to a U.S. Embassy spokesperson in New Delhi, "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."

According to the Pew Research Center, there are an estimated 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the US as of 2024.

Acting tough on illegal migrants, the Pentagon has also started providing flights to deport more than 5,000 immigrants held by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. So far, military aircraft have flown migrants to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.

Trump launched the military deportation flights last week as part of his emergency declaration on immigration. "For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came," Trump told reporters last month.

Trump-Modi Phone Call

PM Narendra Modi and Trump talked over the phone last week after the Republican was sworn in for a second term on January 20. Trump later told reporters that he discussed the issue of immigration with the Indian Premier.

Prime Minister Modi will embark on a two-day visit to the United States on February 12. This will be PM Modi's first bilateral visit to the US after Trump returned to the White House last month and both the leaders are expected to hold wide-ranging talks.