The US began deporting the first batch of undocumented Indian migrants since President Donald Trump returned to office threatening trade action against countries who didn’t comply with his immigration policies.
An aircraft with around 200 people residing illegally in the US will land on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Amritsar in India’s northern state of Punjab, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.
Like several other nations, India is working behind the scenes to appease the Trump administration and avoid the brunt of its trade threats. In the last few weeks, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered a series of concessions to the White House on issues core to Trump’s agenda. Modi is expected to meet Trump in Washington next week.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs did not offer an immediate comment. Bloomberg earlier reported that the South Asian nation is willing to take back 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants from the US.
While the total number of undocumented Indian migrants in the US isn’t certain, a report published last year by the Department of Homeland Security pegged the number at around 220,000 as of 2022.
In his first weeks in office, Trump has urged federal and local authorities to ramp up detention and deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed the US military to the southern border and carried out deportation flights.
