A military transport aircraft of the US is bringing a group of Indian migrants, in the first such deportation to India as part of the big crackdown on illegal immigrants by President Donald Trump in his second term at the White House.
Without directly commenting on the deportation flight carrying the Indians, a spokesperson at the US embassy in New Delhi said on Tuesday that Washington is tightening immigration laws and removing illegal migrants.
The US action comes in the midst of India and the US finalising various elements of a likely visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington from February 12 to 13.
It is learnt a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the US Air Force took off with the deported Indians from an airbase near Texas. However there is no clarity on the number of people on board the plane.
A C-17 aircraft can carry up to 140 people. There is no official word from India yet on the US action.
The US embassy spokesperson declined to provide details of the deportation flight but said: "The United States is vigorously enforcing its border, tightening immigration laws, and removing illegal migrants."
"These actions send a clear message: Illegal migration is not worth the risk," the official added.
It is learnt that the US military aircraft may land in Amritsar or a near-by airbase on Wednesday morning. However, there is no official confirmation of it yet.
The Trump administration has so far used military aircraft to deport illegal migrants to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
India has emerged as the farthest of the destinations to send military aircraft to deport people by the Trump administration.
Following his phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi on January 27, Trump said India "will do what is right" on the deportation of illegal migrants from the US.
According to estimates, around 18,000 illegal immigrants from India have been identified by American authorities for deportation.
Days after Trump came to power for a second term, India indicated its willingness to work with Washington to address issues relating to illegal immigration.
India is opposed to illegal immigration because of its links to several forms of organised crime, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last month, adding New Delhi will take back all Indians who have either overstayed in the US or are there without documentation.
"We will take them back provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality, that they are indeed Indians," he had said.
At the same time, Jaiswal said it would be "premature" to talk about the number of illegal Indian immigrants staying in the US.
Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Shukla said in a post on 'X' that he attended a meeting of parliamentary committee on the external affairs where he came to know that "America is sending back 7.25 lakh Indians by calling them illegal".
"What will they do after coming here?" he asked.
In October last year, the US hired a chartered flight to deport Indian nationals who had been staying in the country illegally.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the US had said that it remains committed to enforcing US immigration laws, imposing strict consequences on those who enter the country illegally.
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