Deportation row: Jaishankar defends Modi govt, says US followed SOP in place since 2012

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that altogether 15,668 illegal Indian immigrants were deported from US since 2009.

New Delhi: Even as the allegedly inhumane way President Donald Trump’s administration sent back 104 illegal migrants to India triggered uproar in both Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Thursday played it down, arguing that placing deportees under restraints was a part of the standard operating procedure the United States had been following since 2012.

The government led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi rather stressed that the focus should be on initiating a strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry and taking steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers.

“Deportations by the US are organised and executed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities. The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by ICE, which has been effective from 2012, I repeat, which is effective from 2012, provides for the use of restraints,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He made almost identical statements in both Houses even as the opposition parliamentarians criticised the BJP-led government in New Delhi for not lodging a strong protest with Washington DC against the inhumane way the 104 Indians had been deported from the US this week.

He said that New Delhi was having talks with Washington DC to ensure that deportees were not mistreated during flights from the US to India.

Jaishankar presented data on the deportation of Indian illegal migrants from the US over the past one-and-a-half decade. As many as 15,668 illegal Indian immigrants have been deported to India from the US since 2009, the data shared by the external affairs minister revealed.

“It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad. This is naturally subject to an unambiguous verification of their nationality. This is not a policy applicable to any specific country, nor indeed one only practised by India,” he said, adding: “It is a generally accepted principle in international relations.”

A C-17 military transport aircraft of the American Air Force departed from Texas early on Tuesday with 104 illegal migrants. They all had not only “failed to establish the legal basis to continue their stay” in the US but had also exhausted all legal options to avoid deportation. They had already been in the detention centres and had been confirmed by New Delhi’s missions in the US to be citizens of India. The aircraft landed in Amritsar on Wednesday. The deportees were originally residents of Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chandigarh and included 19 women and 13 children.

The deportees alleged that they were made to travel onboard the military aircraft for over 40 hours with hands manacled and legs shackled. They had been unrestrained only during toilet breaks, which required long waits in the queue as they had access to only one of the lavatories onboard.

The media reports on the ordeal of the deportees triggered protests in Parliament with members of the opposition parties criticising the government for not being able to ensure the dignity of the citizens of the country despite the bonhomie between Modi and Trump.

With Modi set to visit Washington DC next week to meet Trump, New Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday refrained from commenting on the deportation of 104 Indians from the US. But the uproar in Parliament on Thursday prompted the external affairs minister to make statements in both Houses.

“We have been informed by ICE (US government agency) that women and children are not restrained. Further, the needs of deportees including during transit, related to food and other necessities, including possible medical emergencies are attended to. During toilet breaks, deportees are temporarily unrestrained if needed in that regard,” Jaishankar said.

“This is applicable to chartered civilian aircraft as well as military aircraft. There has been no change, I repeat, no change from past procedures for the flight undertaken by the US on February 5, 2025,” he said, adding: “We are, of course, engaging the US Government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight.”

This was the first deportation of illegal migrants from the US to India after Trump returned to the White House on January 20 as the 47^th American president. The US had last deported Indian illegal migrants on October 22, 2024, albeit on a chartered aircraft. The Trump Administration started using military aircraft to deport people staying in the US unlawfully to signal its tough stand against illegal migration and its commitment to ensure their speedy deportation.

He said that the law enforcement agencies would gather information from the deportees about the agents and others involved in illegally trafficking them from India to the US and would take “necessary preventive and exemplary actions”.

The minister said that 734 had been deported in 2009, 799 in 2010, 597 in 2011, 530 in 2012, and 515 in 2013. In 2014, when the Modi Government came to power, 591 were deported, followed by 708 in 2015. In 2016, a total of 1,303 were deported, 1,024 in 2017, 1,180 in 2018. The highest deportation was witnessed in 2019 with 2,042 illegal Indian immigrants being sent back to the country. In 2020 the deportation number was 1,889; 805 in 2021; 862 in 2022; 617 in 2023; 1,368 last year, and 104 so far this year, he informed both Houses of Parliament.