Washington: India’s proactive stance on illegal immigration and streamlining legal mobility has come in for praise as an India-bound US C-17 military aircraft, carrying around 200 deported illegal migrants left Texas earlier today, marking President Donald Trump’s first crackdown on illegal immigrants from India after assuming office in January 2025.

The move comes after detailed discussions held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump over a phone call on January 27 and ahead of PM Modi’s forthcoming February 13-14 visit to Washington. Similar deportation flights have left for Guatemala, Peru, Honduras and other countries since January 24 as the US President has vowed to crack down on illegal migration that has been the highlight of his Presidential election campaign. Within hours of taking office for the second time, Trump had decided to put an end to birthright citizenship and mobilise troops along the US-Mexico border.

“New Delhi has been proactive in saying that we also have no reason to support illegal immigration and that we would, as in the past, cooperate in deportation of those who have been identified by our authorities as Indian citizens. At the same time, there is a push from the US side to try and ensure that legal migration is streamlined which is an important source of talent for the country. For us, a lot of our talented young people would have opportunities if these aspects are simplified, whether it is access to H-1b visas or green cards, I think this should be a part of the narrative with the United States,” former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla recently told IANS.

After the January 27 phone conversation, the first between the two leaders since Trump’s 2.0 inauguration on January 20, the US President said that India “will do what’s right” on the issue of deportation of illegal migrants. The discussions also ranged around security issues and trade in what the White House had described as a “productive call”.