A U.S. military plane deported Indian migrants. This follows President Donald Trump’s strict policy against illegal immigrants.
According to Reuters, a C-17 aircraft carried 205 Indian nationals. The plane took off from San Antonio, Texas, at around 3 am IST.
A spokesperson from the U.S. embassy in Delhi said, “The U.S. is strictly enforcing its border and immigration laws. We are removing illegal migrants. This sends a clear message: illegal migration is not worth the risk.”
This is the first group of Indian illegal immigrants deported since Trump returned to office.
Currently, around 20,000 illegal Indian immigrants are awaiting deportation. The total number of illegal Indian immigrants in the U.S. is estimated to be 725,000.
India has said it is willing to accept deported citizens after verifying their identity. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar conveyed this to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month.
Jaishankar said, “Illegal immigration is often linked to other crimes. It is not good for our reputation. If we confirm that a person is an Indian citizen, we will accept their return.”
Trump also spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump said that Modi assured him India would take back its illegal immigrants.
Under Trump’s administration, the U.S. military is more involved in immigration enforcement. More troops have been sent to the U.S.-Mexico border. Military facilities are being used to house migrants. Military planes are now used for deportations.
Reuters reported that past deportation flights have sent migrants to Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras. The Pentagon is now arranging flights to deport over 5,000 migrants from El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
Military deportation flights are very expensive. Reuters said a single military flight to Guatemala last week cost about $4,675 per migrant.