External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had earlier stated that New Delhi is open to the “legitimate return” of Indian nationals living “illegally” abroad, including in the US. “We have always taken the view that if there are any of our citizens, who are not here legally, if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India. So it’s not a position unique to the US,” EAM Jaishankar told reporters in Washington, last month.

He affirmed that India’s position on the issue has been “consistent” and “principled” and he did clearly convey this to the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “I understand right now that there is a certain debate going on and a resulting sensitivity which is there. But we have been consistent, we have been very principled about it, and that remains our position, and I conveyed that very clearly to US State Secretary Marco Rubio,” he added.

According to immigration statistics published on the website of US Customs and Border Protection, over 90,000 Indians entered the US illegally in 2022-23. In the US fiscal year 2024, which ended in September, more than 1,000 Indian nationals had been repatriated by charter and commercial flights, according to the then Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Homeland Security, Royce Bernstein Murray.

In October last year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Indians back home, marking a growing trend in deportations to India. The US hired a chartered flight to deport Indian nationals who were staying in the country illegally, the Department of Homeland Security had said, noting that this has been done in cooperation with the Indian government.