A total of 388 Indian nationals have been deported from the US since January 2025, the government informed Parliament on Friday.
Of these, 333 were deported directly from the US on three separate military flights in February.
Also, the US deported 55 Indian nationals through Panama in commercial flights, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response in Lok Sabha.
The Ministry of External Affairs was asked whether the Union government has received the details of the persons to be deported from the US this year, and if US officials were requested to provide them adequate facilities.
The ministry was also asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised concerns with President Donald Trump and top US officials over the "ill treatment" meted out to the deportees.
In his reply, Kirti Vardhan Singh said, "Of the 388 Indian nationals deported since January, 333 individuals, after verification, were deported directly from the US to India on three separate chartered flights, which landed on 5th, 15th and 16th February 2025 respectively. Separately, the US, through Panama, deported 55 Indian nationals who arrived in India on commercial flights." "The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities have recently shared with us information pertaining to an additional 295 individuals, who are detained in their custody with final orders of removal from the US. The Ministry of External Affairs, along with other concerned agencies, is currently verifying the details of these individuals," he said.
The MEA was also asked if the government has any plan to "send our own aircraft" to bring back Indians designated as illegal immigrants by the US and are to be deported in the coming days.
The need to promote safe, orderly and legal migration while cracking down on illegal immigration networks was discussed during the the prime minister visit to the US on February 12-13, the MoS said.
"India's consistent stance against illegal immigration, while seeking humane treatment of deportees, was reiterated. Both sides acknowledged the need to cooperate closely to aggressively address illegal immigration and human trafficking, by taking strong action against bad actors, criminal facilitators and illegal immigration networks," he said.
The US is deporting only those Indian nationals who have been "apprehended for violating the US immigration laws," Mr Singh said.
"Illegal mobility and migration has many other associated activities, also of an illegal nature. Moreover, those of our nationals who have been enticed into illegal migration have themselves become prey to other crimes. Those who have recently returned have testified to their harrowing experiences," he added.
A batch of 104 Indian immigrants were deported by the US in a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force that landed at the Amritsar airport on February 5.
This was the first such batch of Indians deported by the Donald Trump administration as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
The treatment meted out to these deportees had kicked up a nationwide outrage in India.
"The US Standard Operating Procedure to organise and execute deportations effective from November 2012 calls for the use of restraints on deportees," Singh said.
The ministry has strongly registered its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on the flight that landed on February 5, particularly with respect to use of shackles especially on women, he said.
A flurry of queries were put before the government on these recent deportations and the overall immigration issue.
From 2009 to 2024, a total of 15,564 Indian nationals have been deported by the US to India, the government said in a response.
In another query, the government was asked the details of the reasons and basis for choosing Amritsar as the landing site for the deportation flights, despite deportees belonging to multiple states.
"US aircraft ferrying deportees have landed in India after securing necessary permissions. The landing site for any repatriation flight carrying deportees is decided based on operational convenience, the specific route for entry into Indian air space, and particularly, proximity to final destinations of the arriving deportees," the MoS said.
In his response, he also shared state-wise and date-wise data for the 333 Indians deported directly from the US.
The 104 Indians deported on February 5 included 30 from Punjab, 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, and three from Maharashtra.
The 117 deported on February 15 included 65 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, and eight from Gujarat; and the 112 deported on February 16 included 31 from Punjab, 44 from Haryana and 33 from Gujarat.
The government also shared state-wise and date-wise data for the 55 Indians who arrived in New Delhi from the US via Panama on commercial flights between February 20 and March 2.
The date-wise figures stood as -- two on February 20, 12 on February 23, 11 on February 27, nine on February 28 and 21 on March 2.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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