Peksha Nahata
Over 15,000 Indians Deported from the U.S. in the Last 15 Years, Says External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar
7th February, 2025, New Delhi
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday addressed the concerns of the illegal Indian immigrants being deported from the United States stating that it has nothing new as such actions have been in existence for years. He said that 15,756 Indians were deported from the U.S. since 2009.
Most Deportations in 2019 and 2020
Jaishankar put out year-wise data on deportations, with the year 2019 recording the highest number of deportations (2,042) followed by 1,889 in 2020, during the year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Year-wise data of Indians deported from the U.S.:
2009: 734
2010: 799
2011: 597
2012: 530
2013: 515
2014: 591
2015: 708
2016: 1,303
2017: 1,024
2018: 1,180
2019: 2,042 (highest)
2020: 1,889
2021: 805
2022: 862
2023: 617
2024: 1,368
2025 (up to Feb 5): 104
First Batch Deported Under Donald Trump’s Crackdown
The deportees were the first batch, as stipulated under the Donald Trump administration, to fly in a U.S. military aircraft to Amritsar upon their deportation on Wednesday. The people deported reportedly included:
33 each from Haryana and Gujarat
30 from Punjab
3 each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh
2 from Chandigarh
Most of these would-be entrants were said to have borrowed gargantuan sums of money to pay the smugglers for a promise of legal entry into the USA—only to experience treacherous treks across several countries before being apprehended and deported.
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Dispute on the Treatment of the Deported
The deplorable videos showing the deported Indians tied hand and foot and made to walk in a shackling manner as in the case of hardened criminals drew political ire in India, drawing opposition-level heat for the Modi government’s inability to ensure a dignified return of Indians.
Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale even posed the question for India, sometimes referred to as the fifth-largest economy and calling upon the country to send a plane for the deportees and do it in a humane manner, even when smaller nations such as Colombia had done it.
Jaishankar defends procedures of deportation in the U.S.
Jaishankar said the deportations were carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, which has been using restraints for deportation since 2012. While men are restrained, not women and children, Jaishankar said that the deportees are given food, medical care, and toilet breaks, during which they are temporarily unrestrained if needed.
The issue related to deportations continues to be a sensitive one as the Indian government engages with the government of the U.S. to assure the dignity and respect of the deportees.
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Prateeksha Thakur
