Conservative politics has been gaining momentum globally, spreading like a magnetic current across nations. Since its resurgence in India in 2014, this ideology has steadily influenced regions such as Europe, South America, and, most recently, the United States, where the Republican Party secured another conservative victory. A shared priority among these governments has been addressing the challenge of illegal immigration.
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made deporting illegal immigrants a key agenda. Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proposed the UK-Rwanda immigration policy, while former U.S. President Donald Trump initiated plans to construct a wall along the Mexican border. Upon returning to office on January 20, Trump emphasized his commitment to this issue by signing an executive order to deport illegal immigrants, targeting individuals from various nations, including India. The U.S. has identified approximately 18,000 undocumented Indian immigrants for deportation.
This development has sparked criticism in India, particularly from opposition parties, left-leaning groups, and social media users. They accuse the Modi government of yielding to pressure from Trump’s administration, claiming India has been coerced into accepting the return of its nationals residing illegally in the United States.
Arjun wrote on X, ‘What changed since 2017?” “Everything”
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate claimed, ‘After taking the oath, Trump’s announcement on immigrants is likely to affect Indians the most—regardless of how they arrived in the United States. According to an estimate, more than 700,000 Indian immigrants could face difficulties in the U.S. following a reassessment of their status.’
Dr. Girja Shetkar asserted, ‘18000 Indians to be deported by Trump administration. Isn’t this a matter of Shame.’
Nehr Who, Abhishek Anand, Mr. Fixit, Kavish Aziz and Ravinder Kapur also shared such narratives.
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In this article, we will fact-check two different topics:
1 Has India’s stance on deportation changed from Sushma Swaraj’s tenure to S. Jaishankar’s leadership as External Affairs Minister (EAM)?
2. Was Donald Trump’s action on January 20 truly unprecedented, or has something similar happened before?
According to a Business Standard report published on March 23, 2017, then-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stated that India would not accept the deportation of Indian nationals labeled as illegal migrants by the United States without proper verification. She said, “We have not accepted this list and have sought more details. We have said that only after verifying the details can we issue an emergency certificate for their deportation.”
During a Question Hour session in the Rajya Sabha, she emphasized that India’s position had not changed following the Trump administration’s arrival in power.
Sushma Swaraj made it clear that India would not deport any individuals without verifying their identity as Indian citizens.
Now let’s examine if this policy has changed under External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
According to VOA News (January 3, 2025), Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reiterated India’s openness to the return of undocumented Indians from the U.S., provided their Indian citizenship is verified. Speaking after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jaishankar stated, “We have always taken the view that if there are any of our citizens who are not here legally, and if we are sure they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India.”
Moreover, we also reviewed the press conference. In the press conference S JaiShankar elaborated, “ When it comes to mobility of people we have a principled approach, it applies to all the countries. As a government we are very much supportive of legal mobility, because we do believe in a global workplace. We want the Indian talent and Indian skills to have an optimum opportunity at a global level. As opposed to we are very much opposed to illegal mobility that when something illegal happens many illegal activities get joined with it. This is not desirable, certainly not reputationally good with every country and the US is no exception. We have always taken the view, if any of our citizens who are not here legally, if we are sure they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India, so it’s not a unique position to the United States.”
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized a key point in his statement, saying, “If we are sure they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India.” This stance aligns closely with the position taken by former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who firmly stated that India would not accept anyone without proper verification.
Yes, this is not the first instance of India accepting the return of illegal immigrants. According to a Times of India report published on December 27, 2024, one Indian was deported from the U.S. every six hours in 2024. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report, released on December 19, revealed a 400% increase in the number of Indians deported, rising from 292 in 2021 to 1,529 in 2024 out of a total of 271,484 deportations globally.
The Times of India further highlighted that during Donald Trump’s first term as U.S. president, 3,928 illegal Indian immigrants were deported in 2019 and 2020 combined (1,616 in 2019 and 2,312 in 2020). Comparatively, during Joe Biden’s presidency, deportations of Indians dropped significantly, totaling 3,467 between 2021 and 2024. However, ICE data until November 2024 indicates that 17,940 Indians are among the 1.44 million individuals on the non-detained docket with final orders of removal.
Additionally, a Financial Express article published on January 23, 2025, data from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in December 2024 had revealed that 17,940 Indians are among the 1.445 million individuals with final orders of removal. Over 5000 Indians were under detention in fiscal 2024. ICE had deported over 270,000 immigrants to 192 countries, including 1,529 to India, in 2024, the highest since 2014. In Trump’s first term, 1,616 Indians were deported, with the number rising to 2,312 in 2020, an increase of around 43%. Under the Biden administration, the number dropped to 292 in 2021 and 276 in 2022 and in 2023 increased to 370 in 2023.
In October 2024, a chartered flight repatriated over 100 undocumented Indians from the U.S. ICE reported that the highest annual deportations during Trump’s first term occurred in 2019, with 267,258 removals globally. The estimated number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. stands at around 14 million, though Trump has previously claimed this figure could be as high as 25 million.
The recent order by the Trump administration to deport 18,000 illegal Indian immigrants back to India is not unprecedented. This process has been ongoing for the past eight years. During Donald Trump’s first term as U.S. president, this policy was initiated, and India cooperated by accepting deportees after proper verification. The subsequent administration under Joe Biden continued the practice, and now Donald Trump, in his second term, has reaffirmed his commitment to deporting illegal immigrants—not just Indians.
It’s important to note that Indian nationals constitute only 3% of the illegal immigrants being deported. The majority are from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Venezuela.
Thus, the claim that India’s stance on this issue has shifted under External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is false and inaccurate. Similarly, the suggestion that Donald Trump has been vindictive towards India and Prime Minister Modi by deporting illegal immigrants is misleading. For the past eight years, successive U.S. administrations have deported undocumented Indian immigrants, and India has consistently received them after proper verification.
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