2,417 Indian nationals have been deported or repatriated from US since January 2025: MEA

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday highlighted that 2,417 Indian nationals have been deported or repatriated from the United States since January 2025.

During the weekly media briefing, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s firm stance against illegal migration, emphasising commitment to promoting legal pathways for migration.

“The number of deportations that have happened from the United States since January; 2417 Indian nationals are deported or repatriated from the United States… We want to promote legal pathways of migration. India stands against illegal migration,” Jaiswal said.

He stated that India aims to encourage legal migration, discouraging illegal activities that undermine these efforts. He added that the government verifies nationality and takes back individuals without legal status upon receiving proper documentation.

“Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country and he or she is referred to us with documents, and if there are claims that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, confirm the nationality and then we are in a position to take them back… This has been happening with deportations from the United States,” said Jaiswal.

Turning to the issue of fraudulent practices, the spokesperson stated, “As far as visa fraud cases and other such matters are concerned, we want to promote legal migration from India. We want to see how best we can clamp down on illegal migration because that undermines our efforts to promote legal migration.”

Jaiswal further linked this to the government’s efforts within India. “The government of India has been working very closely with state governments to crack down on people who are promoting illegal migration… We are raising awareness about legal migration. We’ve also been issuing regular advisories for our nationals to stay away from the kind of employment opportunities that are being offered in Southeast Asia,” he said.

This emphasis on awareness and enforcement is tied to India’s wider cooperation with the United States on migration matters. The Ministry of External Affairs had informed that India had close cooperation with the United States on migration issues, particularly the deportation of Indian nationals with illegal status. Jaiswal had also highlighted this collaboration earlier during his media briefing on May 29.

Providing updated figures, the ministry had added that, since January 2025, approximately 1080 Indians had been deported from the United States, with around 62 per cent returning on commercial flights.

Speaking in a weekly briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had stated that, “We have close cooperation between India and the United States on migration issues, on deportation of Indian nationals who are either in illegal status there or who travel illegally; we take them back once we receive details about them.”

He further gave clarity on the latest numbers. “The update on the numbers is that since January of 2025, we have some 1080 Indians who have come back or who have been deported from the United States. Of these, around 62 per cent have come on commercial flights,” he had added.

Apart from migration issues, Jaiswal had also noted that India had seen reports suggesting the US government’s updated guidance regarding Student and Exchange Visitor visa applicants.

In response, MEA had highlighted that the welfare of Indian students abroad remained of “utmost priority” to the Government of India and India would “continue” to follow further developments in this regard.

“While we note that issuance of a visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the application of Indian students will be considered on merit, and they will be able to join their academic programs on time,” Jaiswal had added. (ANI)