Over 2790 Indian nationals deported from US this year: MEA

New Delhi: Over 2790 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States this year for illegally staying in the country, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Thursday. The exercise was conducted after the Indian authorities thoroughly verified their credentials and nationality.

“Since January this year, we have had over 2790 Indian nationals who did not meet the criteria. They were illegally staying there, and we verified their credentials, their nationality, and they have returned. This is the status as of yesterday,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said while addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi.

Responding to a question on the issue of deportation of Indians from other countries, Jaiswal further stated that around 100 Indian nationals have also been deported from the United Kingdom following the verification of their nationality by the Indian authorities.

India has been reiterating its longstanding stance against illegal migration while emphasising its commitment to promote legal pathways of migration.

“In the last several months, since January 2025 so far, we’ve had 2,417 Indian nationals deported or repatriated from the United States… We want to promote legal pathways of migration. At the same time, India stands against illegal migration,” Jaiswal had said last month

Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman from Punjab, was among the latest deportees who arrived in India from the US in September after being detained by California authorities during a standard check-in by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country, and he or she is referred to us with documents if there are claims that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, we confirm the nationality, and then we are in a position to take them back. And this is what has been happening with deportations from the United States,” Jaiswal had added.

IANS