Amid the ongoing row over the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US, Indian Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday (February 6)
highlighted that such actions by American authorities were not new and have occurred in previous years as well.
The top diplomat was
addressing the upper house of the Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha, as he revealed that American flights carrying Indian immigrants back home have been flying since 2009.
“Honourable Members would be aware that the process of deportation is not a new one, I repeat not a new one, and has been ongoing for several years,” said the minister as he addressed the lawmakers.
“I would like to share with the House details of deportation from the United States since 2009.”
Jaishankar stated that the deportation process by US targeting Indian illegal immigrants began in 2009 when over 700 nationals were flown back to India on flights.
He also revealed that over a thousand people were deported to India in 2024 by the Joe Biden administration.
Here is the year-wise data shared by S Jaishankar in the parliament.
“2009, number of deportees 734.
2010- 799.
2011- 597.
2012- 530.
2013- 515.
2014- 591.
2015- 708.
2016- 1303.
2017- 1024.
2018- 1180.
2019- 2042.
2020- 1889.
2021- 805.
2022, 862.
2023- 617.
2024- 1368.
2025- 104.”
As the immigrants landed in India on Wednesday, opposition parties staged major protests saying the Indian nationals were “handcuffed and humiliated”.
Jaishankar also confirmed that deportees were cuffed throughout the journey but added that women and children were not restrained.
Shashi Tharoor, a Congress leader and the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, argued that while taking back Indian nationals was an obligation of the government, he was unhappy that US had sent them on a military plane.
“I do believe it would have been better for the US to have sent these people on a regular commercial flight, or if necessary, on a civilian charter, than doing so on a military aircraft. That I think is what is a new contribution by Mr Trump’s administration,” Tharoor was quoted as saying by media.
He added that the deportation in such a manner was “an insult to India and the dignity of Indians”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Tharoor had acknowledged that it was not the first deportation flight from the US and “won’t be the last” either.
“Two or three things have been forgotten by the public. This is not the first deportation and won’t be the last. Even before Trump came, during the Biden administration in the last fiscal year which ended in September, there were already 1,100 illegal Indians sent back from America. The Americans estimate that 7,25,000 undocumented Indians are eligible for deportation. In the last four years, they have arrested around two lakh Indians from Mexico and Canada borders,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
(With inputs from agencies)
Link to article –
How many Indians has US deported in last 15 years? Jaishankar gives year-wise data
