Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said yesterday that New Delhi is engaging with the US to ensure that illegal Indian immigrants are not mistreated while being deported after opposition parties protested against the treatment of a group that was sent back this week.
A US military plane carrying 104 deportees landed on Wednesday in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in India’s Punjab state, part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
The deportation came a week before Trump is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington and sparked a political furore in India, with opposition parties demanding a discussion in parliament over how the deportees were treated during their return.
Jaishankar told parliament that the process of deportation followed by US authorities was not a new one and it allows for use of restraints on immigrants being returned to their home countries.
He also said that the women and children among the deportees were not restrained, adding that India’s focus should be on strongly cracking down on the illegal migration industry.
“It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad,” Jaishankar said, adding that hundreds of Indians have been deported every year for years.
Earlier, the Times of India and the Indian Express newspapers said all immigrants, barring children, were handcuffed during the flight, quoting unnamed officials in Punjab who said they had spoken to the deportees.
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