‘Won’t accept description of India as uncooperative country’: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri

NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri echoed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s speech that the process of deportations is not new, and that India is not an uncooperative country. Misri, speaking at a weekly press briefing on Friday, said that there are certain legalities in the deportation process to make sure all the citizens are Indian citizens.

“The process of deportation is not new. It is something that the External Affairs Minister (EAM) also emphasised in the Parliament yesterday…I would not accept the description of India as an uncooperative country. Any country in the world, if it wants to accept its nationals back, will want to have the assurance that whosoever is coming back is a citizen of India, there are issues of legality associated with it, there are issues of security associated with it…

#WATCH | Delhi: On the issue of illegal immigrants in the United States, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri says, “…The process of deportation is not new. it is something that the External Affairs Minister (EAM) also emphasised in the Parliament yesterday…I would not accept the… pic.twitter.com/Vrk07ib7Rt

— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2025

“In recent conversations when we have sought details about potential returnees from US. We have been told that there are up to 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders. We have sought details and they have been provided to us with regard to 298 individuals…We have been very transparent on this use with US counterparts”, Misri said.

When asked about the use of military plane for deporting illegal Indian immigrants from the US, Misri acknowledged that this particular flight is of somewhat different nature than previous ones. “The deportation that happened the day before yesterday is somewhat different compared to flights that have been taking place for many years and is of a slightly different nature”, he said.

On being asked whether there were protests after the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US in 2012, Misri said that there were no records of protests happening. “I don’t think there was any protest. We don’t have any record of any protest having been made about it”, he said.

Misri also said that Jaishankar has outlined the procedure of restraints in the customs enforcement. However, he said that on the mistreatment of the deported citizens, the MEA is taking the issue up with the US government.

“The description by the EAM of the standard operating procedure relating to the use of restraints which has been communicated to us by US authorities including the immigration and customs enforcement. EAM attracted attention to the fact that these have been in practice for a long period of time…

“On the issue of mistreatment, it is a valid issue to raise and we continue to emphasise to US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees…We will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention. Action needs to be taken across the system against the underlying ecosystem that thrives on promoting illegal immigration”, he said.

Jaishankar on Thursday said that the deportation of Indian nationals from United States is “not a new issue” and the government is engaging with the US to ensure that returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight.

“Deportations by the US are organized and executed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities. The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by ICE has been effective since 2012. I repeat, that is effective from 2012 and provides for the use of restraints. However, we have been informed by ICE 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”, he said. (ANI)