External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday addressed the ongoing issue of Indian citizens being deported from the United States and said that it was a fundamental responsibility for all nations to take back their citizens who are found to be living illegally abroad.
“All countries must take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad,” he said in Rajya Sabha.
The minister further assured the parliamentarians that the Indian government is in touch with the US authorities to ensure that the deportees are not ill-treated and called for strict actions against the illegal immigration industry.
“We are engaging with the US govt to ensure that the deportees not be mistreated in any manner. At the same time, the House will appreciate that our focus should be on the strong crackdown against the illegal immigration industry,” Jaishankar said.
“On the basis of information provided by the deportees, law enforcement agencies will take necessary, preventive and exemplary action against the agents and such agencies,” he added.
The EAM’s remark comes after the opposition MPs protested demanding a discussion in the Parliament over the recent deportation of over 100 Indian nationals from the US.
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Several members including Amritsar MP Gurujit Singh Aujla were also seen joining the protest sporting handcuffs on their hands.
A US military aircraft carrying more than 100 Indian citizens who allegedly illegally migrated to the United States arrived in Amritsar on Wednesday.
Of them, 33 each were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.
‘Quite unnecessary’: Cong MP Shashi Tharoor on deportations
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the US has the right to deport a person if they are staying there illegally.
However, he stated that the manner in which the US was deporting Indian citizens was “unnecessary” as they were not criminals and had no bad intentions.
Also Read | ‘Handcuffed and shackled’: Indian immigrant recounts deportation from US
Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said that the US should have deported Indians on a commercial aircraft or a civilian plane. He stressed that deportation should have been conducted in a more “humane manner.”
He also highlighted that over 1100 Indians were deported under the Biden administration in 2024.