'Obligation to take back illegal nationals': Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha on 104 Indians sent back by US

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday briefed Rajya Sabha on the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants by the Donald Trump-led US government and said it was the "obligation to take back illegal immigrants".

On the "handcuff" row, the minister said that the "standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints".

Earlier, the Congress party expressed concern over "pics of Indians getting handcuffed & humiliated" while being deported from the US.


The minister, however, said that the government was engaging with the US dispensation to ensure "deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight".

Jaishankar said the process of deportation was "not a new one" and has been there for several years, brushing off the opposition's criticism of how the Indians were dealt with during the process.

"This is not a policy applicable to only one country," the minister said in the Upper House.

Also read: Why did US plane carrying deported Indians land in Amritsar & not Delhi, asks Congress

Here's what Jaishankar said:

• Addressing the chair in the Upper House, Jaishankar said: "It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad. This is naturally subject to an unambiguous verification of their nationality. This is not a policy applicable to any specific country nor indeed one only practised by India. It is a generally accepted principle in international relations."
• "The House will appreciate that our focus should be on strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry while taking steps to ease visas for the legitimate travellers. On the basis of information provided by the returning deportees about the agents and others involved, law enforcement agencies will take necessary preventive and exemplary actions," the minister added.
• The minister further said: "We are engaging the US government to ensure that the deportees not be mistreated in any manner."
• "The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft provides for the use of restraints. However, we have been informed that women and children are not restrained," he said.

Also read: 'We were handcuffed and in shackles,' says Indian immigrant deported by US

A US military C-17 Globemaster aircraft arrived in Amritsar, Punjab on Wednesday afternoon, carrying 104 deported Indians, ending their aspirations of living in America.

The government indicated that additional deportation flights from the US might happen, confirming that all repatriated citizens with verified backgrounds would be accepted back, as was practised during both the Biden administration and Donald Trump's previous presidency.

On Tuesday, a US Embassy representative stated that whilst specific details remain confidential, the United States is strictly implementing its border and immigration regulations.


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