India Raises Concern Over US Deportation Practices

India has strongly registered its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on the flight that landed on the 5th of last month in Amritsar, particularly with respect to the use of shackles, especially on women. This was stated by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha yesterday. He said New Delhi remains engaged with Washington regarding the humane treatment of deportees during deportation operations. Mr Singh also clarified that no charges have been paid by the government as deportation costs for Indian nationals recently deported by the United States.

The minister informed that the need to promote safe, orderly and legal migration while cracking down on illegal immigration networks was discussed during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. He added that India’s consistent stance against



illegal immigration while seeking humane treatment of deportees was reiterated. Mr Singh highlighted that both sides acknowledged the need to cooperate closely in aggressively addressing illegal immigration and human trafficking by taking strong action against bad actors, criminal facilitators, and illegal immigration networks.

The minister highlighted that the US side has confirmed that no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on 15th and 16th February, and this has been confirmed and recorded by Indian agencies after interviewing the deportees on their arrival in India. In another question, the minister informed that 388 Indian nationals have been deported to India from the US from January 2025 till date. He added that over 15 thousand Indian nationals have been deported by the US to India from 2009 to 2024.