India strongly registered its concerns with US authorities on treatment meted out to deportees: Govt

New Delhi: India has "strongly registered" its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on a flight that landed in Amritsar on February 5, particularly with respect to the use of shackles, especially on women, the Centre told Parliament on Friday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha.

He also said the US side has conveyed to the MEA that detainees on the three deportation flights (that landed in Amritsar on February 5, 15 and 16) were "not instructed to remove any religious head coverings and that the detainees did not request any religious accommodations during the flights aside from requesting for vegetarian meals".

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it had also registered its concerns regarding the need to accommodate the religious sensitivities and food preferences of the deportees.

The MEA was asked whether the government has taken cognisance of reports about Indian deportees being shackled during their repatriation by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and if it has raised any formal diplomatic objections with the United States regarding the treatment meted to the Indian deportees.

The government was also asked whether the standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft effective since 2012 has "allowed the use of restraints", and if so, whether India has sought any modifications for its nationals.

Singh, in his reply, said the MEA remains engaged with the US side regarding the humane treatment of the deportees during deportation operations.

"The ministry has strongly registered its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on the flight that landed on 5th February 2025, particularly with respect to the use of shackles, especially on women," he said.

A batch of 104 illegal Indian immigrants were deported by the US on board a US military aircraft that had landed at the Amritsar airport in Punjab on February 5. This was the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.

The treatment meted out to these deportees had kicked a nationwide outcry. Two more batches of illegal Indian immigrants were also deported by the US on February 15 and 16.

On February 6, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in his statement in the Rajya Sabha that the government was engaging with the US to ensure the deported Indians are not mistreated, underlining the focus should be on a strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry.

In the query in the Lok Sabha, the MEA was also asked whether the ministry has received any complaints from deported individuals regarding mistreatment during repatriation, and if so, sought the details of the reports along with the action-taken reports.

"The US Standard Operating Procedure to organise and execute deportations effective from November 2012 calls for the use of restraints on deportees. The US authorities have conveyed that restraints are applied to ensure the safety and security of the mission. While women and minors are generally not shackled, the flight officer in charge of a deportation flight has the final say on the matter," Singh said.

"The US side has confirmed that no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on 15th and 16th February 2025, respectively. This has also been confirmed and recorded by our agencies after interviewing the deportees on their arrival in India," he added.

In a separate query, Congress leader Manish Tewari asked whether the Union government has "paid any charges per person as deportation costs" for Indian nationals recently deported by the US, and if due process under US immigration law during expedited removal proceedings was followed for these deported Indian nationals.

"Since January 2025, the US Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection vertical has been carrying out deportation operations as part of the larger 'National Security initiative' led by the US White House -- National Security Council.

"The individuals that have been deported in this operation were placed under 'expedited removal' process, wherein a determination of inadmissibility can be made by the immigration officer without having to go through an immigration judge in the US," Singh said in his response.

In another query, the government was asked whether there is any "reverse migration" due to changes in policy of countries like the US and Canada.

"No trends point towards reverse migration from either Canada or the US to India as a result of the recent migration-related changes in policy/approaches in these countries," the MoS said.

The MEA, in a separate query, was asked about the likely impact of the recent US policy change regarding illegal migrants on Indian citizens who are currently residing there without legal documentation.

"Individuals who have entered the US illegally, or who have overstayed their visa validity, or found to be staying in the US without any valid documentation or have criminal convictions against them are likely to be deported.

"It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad. This is however subject to an unambiguous verification of their nationality," Singh said.