US authorities have informed India that there are up to 487 presumed Indian citizens with "final removal order" and identifying details have been supplied to New Delhi with regard to 298 individuals, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday.
The foreign secretary's remarks at a special briefing ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the US came amid an uproar over the recent deportation of 104 illegal Indian immigrants by the US.
On a query on whether a formal protest has been lodged by New Delhi in this regard, Misri said, "Yes, we have been in touch with US authorities on this issue on a continuing basis, and we have registered our concern with them on this matter."
Misri was also asked about allegations that many of the deportees were handcuffed on board the C17 Globemaster which landed in Amritsar on Wednesday.
"This particular deportation that happened day before yesterday was somewhat different as compared to the earlier ones that have taken place for many, many years as you would be aware of. This was slightly different in nature because in the US system itself, it was described as 'national security operation'. And, that is perhaps one of the reasons why a military aircraft was used," Misri told reporters.
"In so far as alternatives are concerned, we will consider any alternative that would be feasible," he added.
Asked when was the last time that a military aircraft was used to deport illegal Indian immigrants from the US, the foreign secretary said, "I will probably need to go and check the last time a military aircraft was used... I don't have the information immediately."
He said the SOP that is known publicly, which was also "shared by the US authorities, has been in practice since 2012".
Misri also told reporters that there are "multiple categories" of people returning from the US.
"There are people who are returned and those who are removed from the US. And the difference is on account of the judicial process, or the official and the legal processes that are applied," he said.
Asked if more deportation flights are in the offing, Misri said it depends on the number of returnees that are confirmed as Indian citizens.
"It is hard to give an exact number because we can't call anybody as confirmed Indian nationals until we verify," he said.
"Any country in the world, if it is going to accept its nationals back, will want to have the assurance that whosoever is coming back is a bona fide citizen of that country. There are issues of legality and security associated with it. Therefore, we have been in close communication with the US on this matter. As soon as information is provided to us, we do due diligence and then action follows," the foreign secretary said.
He also shared some data and said India has been "very transparent" on this issue with "our US counterparts".
"In recent conversations, when we sought details about the potential returnees from the US, we have been told that there are up to 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal order with the US authorities.
"We have sought details, and identifying details and particulars have been supplied to us with regard to 298 individuals. We received this a short while ago, and we are checking on this. We will revert to our US counterparts on these issues. About the others, we have not yet been provided the details," he said.
During the briefing, Misri also flagged the "real cancer" which is the "ecosystem to promote illegal migration".
"Gangs deceive innocent people and take huge sums of money from them and take them abroad, but they have to return like this. Action is needed against such people, and the external affairs minister also drew attention to this. The government will have to work on this further," he said.
On the issue of 'mistreatment' being raised by many, Misri said it's a "valid issue to raise".
"We continue to emphasise to the US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees. But, this is a continuing exercise and conversation, and we will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention," he said.
Asked if any protest had happened back in 2012, the foreign secretary said, "I don't think there was any protest. We don't have any record of any protest being made about it."
On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the government is engaging with the US to ensure that deported Indians are not mistreated, underlining that the focus should be on strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry.
Echoing Jaishankar's views, Misri said it is important to note that this process of deportation is not new.
"Look, there are reports about the presence illegal immigrants from various countries in different states in the US, including from India... We have some information about the numbers that are there in the US, and we are working with such figures as made available to us, which we are then able to confirm," the foreign secretary said.
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