Jaibans Singh
On Wednesday, 5 February 2025, a US military C-17 transport aircraft landed at the Sri Guru Ram Das International Airport, Amritsar with 104 Indian citizens who had been detained in the US over a period of time for attempting illegal entry into the country. This was the first deportation to India in Donald Trump’s second-term as president of the US.
A big factor for Trump’s victory in the US Presidential election was his assurance to the Americans that he would remove all illegal immigrants from American soil. “Immediately upon taking the oath of office, I will launch the largest deportation programme in American history,” said Trump during one of his election campaigns. In most campaign interactions, he consistently stated his intention to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target “every illegal migrant network operating within the US.” Trump has remained true to his word and has, immediately on assuming office, launched a campaign against the so-called illegal immigrants and aliens.
Deportations from the US have been taking place regularly. The Indian government has confirmed in Parliament that since 2012 more than 15,000 Indians have been deported back to India. Their acceptance back is in line with the Indian policy that remains opposed to illegal immigration because of its links to several forms of organised crime. All such cases are verified for authenticity of Indian citizenship and taken back.
Trumps Insensitive Approach Towards Deportation
What has raised consternation in India and many other countries is the insensitivity, obtuse masochism and toxicity with which Trump is conducting the deportation. He has passed an executive order to send the deportees back in a military aircraft even though it entails much more cost to the US exchequer. The poor deportees have been kept chained all through the long flight under the most uncomfortable and demeaning conditions. The Trump administration has, so far, used military aircraft to deport illegal migrants to Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Columbia and now India.
“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” stated White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in explanation of the deplorable methodology being adopted for the deportation process.
Sadly, Trump is not the first President of the US to be harsh on illegal immigrants. There were reports during the Obama regime of children being separated from their parents in detention camps. The living conditions in the camps have always been quite terrible as reports suggest.
Notwithstanding the above, the US has in place a humane policy to deal with such cases through a department called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that is mandated to detain and deport “non-citizens” who violate their visas, participate in criminal acts, and are a threat to public safety. Accordingly, illegal immigrants and cases falling in the other categories are produced by ICE before the immigration court, which is under the Department of Justice. The court addresses any asylum plea that an immigrant may have and gives necessary orders for detention or removal.
After the removal order, the US government sends the migrants back by air in civilian aircraft. In earlier cases, the US has used chartered planes to deport the migrants. Before their deportation, the immigrant can opt for voluntary departure at his/her own expense.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees and many other international institutions have raised concerns about use of the word “illegal” while referring to such immigrants. They prefer the use of words like ‘irregular’ and ‘undocumented’.
One wonders whether the above mentioned processes and human rights norms set by international organisations have been followed by Trump in his latest acts of deportation? It does not seem to be so. The US President has most likely followed his chauvinistic mind-set with little regard towards law and justice.
The Columbian President, Gustavo Petro took strong exception to treating Columbian citizens like criminals and barred two military planes carrying Colombians deported from the US from landing in Columbia. It seems that the Trump administration threatened the Columbian government with punitive tariffs which led to its agreeing to the landing of the flights.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also expressed grave concerns of the Government of India. He stated in Parliament that the Government of India is “actively engaging with the Donald Trump administration to ensure that deported Indian migrants are treated with dignity and not subjected to mistreatment.”
Further, the Ministry of External Affairs has stated that it has “registered its concerns with the United States administration in Washington and in Delhi over the handling of 104 alleged illegal immigrants who were deported back to India 5 February 5, 2025.” It is hoped that the US administration will become reasonable in the future.
However, India cannot and should not take punitive action against the US since it can adversely affect living conditions and the deportation process of those who continue to be under detention in the US as illegal immigrants. The priority now is to ensure that all Indians who are stuck in detention centres in the US are brought back to their homes safely and at the earliest.
Illegal Immigration from India
Of more importance is a discussion on the proclivity of many families in India to seek a new life in foreign shores through illegal means. Presently, about 1.44 million immigrants are on the ICE’s “non-detained docket with final orders of removal,” of which nearly 18,000 are Indians.
These hapless people have spent anything from INR 30 lakhs to one crore to seek illegal immigration to the US through what is called the Dunki (donkey) route. Many families have mortgaged their houses and property to raise this massive amount. The Dunki movement is spread over many months with the immigrants passing through multiple countries and inhospitable terrain. It is expensive, exploitative and terribly dangerous. Many of the immigrants have lost their lives enroute or simply disappeared.
Obviously, those adopting the illegal route do not process the education qualification or the skill to pursue the legal routes. The aspiration, however, is so overwhelming that the route is adopted while putting the future of the entire family at stake.
It is appreciated that India does not offer job opportunities akin to those found in the US and other western countries or in places like Australia and New Zealand. However, such limitations can surely be overcome by a family that has the capacity to raise money in crores for the illegal activity.
A silver lining of the obtuse and insensitive approach adopted by Donald Trump is that it has created an awareness across the nation about the dangers of pursuing the illegal route. It is sincerely hoped that this knowledge will help bring down the number of people who wish to indulge in this misadventure that can end in a trauma for a lifetime.
Concerns about Visa restriction in the US
There is a large segment of Indians going legally to the US and other countries on study or work visas. They are protected by law. Concerns have also been expressed over the possible restrictions on H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreign workers to be employed in the US.
It needs to be remembered that, in 2017, Donald Trump introduced stricter scrutiny, leading to rejection rates reaching 24% in 2018. This was very high as compared to 5-8% during Barack Obama’s presidency. Under President Joe Biden the rejection rate was only 2-4%.
Trump has already signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of those without legal residency, including H-1B holders. The policy has been blocked by US courts, but Trump has appealed the decision.
Governments are Missing the Woods for the Trees
While pursuing the gung-ho approach Trump and his administration need to look at reality in the face which will make them realise that they are missing the woods for the trees. The reality is that the undocumented workers in the US, especially those from India, are the most productive members of the country. As per available data, in the US, households led by undocumented persons paid $75.8 billion in taxes to the US economy in 2024. The median household income of Indian families is $145,000, much higher than the US national average of $80,610.
Further, the illegal immigrant is the only person in the US who is willing to work on hard tasks for long hours with pathetic wages. The US mainstays of agriculture and fruit industry are dependent upon this labour force.
Maybe somewhere this realisation has dawned upon Trump because, in a rare display of sociability, Trump has given a positive indication about the Visa programme. “I like very competent people coming into our country…… and I’m not just talking about engineers, I’m talking about people at all levels,” he said in one of his interactions.
India, too, needs to look at the matter in a perspective that goes beyond the misplaced priorities of the new US regime considering that the country has received $111 billion in remittances from documented and undocumented Indians from the US in 2024.
One cannot but agree with the remark made by the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh that “mobility of skilled Indian professionals has contributed to the mutual benefit of India and the United States, especially in the technology and innovation sectors.”
A mature understanding of the situation should lead to creation of a more innovative and progressive policy that can benefit both countries and such people who are willing to put in extra hard work to realise the “American dream.”
Conclusion
It is accepted that American law looks upon illegal immigration as a crime but to treat such people like hardened criminals would be looked upon by all humanity as an extreme and abhorrent action. It is not something that can be accepted from a country that likes to pride itself for its adherence to human rights. Any attempt to justify such objectionable actions is unacceptable.
Those in America who are now shouting hoarse about aliens must go back in history and look out for the time when their forefathers also came to the land as immigrants and that too illegal ones. What Trump is advocating is looked upon a white racism by many.
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