NEW DELHI: The Indian government has verified the identities of 388 illegal Indian immigrants in the U.S. since former President Donald Trump initiated a mass deportation campaign, and all have since returned to India, TOI has learned. This includes groups who arrived in Amritsar on repatriation flights as well as those deported from third countries—primarily Panama—with assistance from the International Organization for Migration.
The process of nationality verification remains ongoing, and more deportations are expected. However, no individual will be repatriated without confirmation of their Indian nationality, following past protocol. The exact number of Indians residing illegally in the U.S. remains unknown, as individuals are only classified as Indian nationals after verification.
While estimates have ranged between 200,000 and 700,000, the Indian government maintains that it has no official data on undocumented Indian immigrants in the U.S. “The reason is that these individuals legally exited India but later overstayed their U.S. visas or entered the country without valid documents,” Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh stated in response to a written query in the Rajya Sabha.
Indian authorities thoroughly review U.S. deportation lists and only accept individuals whose Indian nationality has been confirmed. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar previously emphasized in Parliament that while every country has an obligation to accept its nationals living illegally abroad, this is contingent on “unambiguous” verification of their nationality. India has been accepting deportees from the U.S. for decades, with the highest number (2,042) repatriated in 2019. In 2023, 1,368 Indian nationals were deported.
For the Indian government, the larger concern remains tackling the illegal migration industry. Jaishankar recently reiterated that law enforcement agencies will take action against agents and networks facilitating illegal migration.
