US Deportation of Indian Nationals

Why Indians are risking it all to chase the American Dream

The article is first appeared in BBC on Nov 25, 2024.

In October 2023, a significant event took place when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) organized a chartered flight to repatriate Indian nationals, marking a growing trend of deportations to India. The flight, part of a series of large-scale “removal flights,” carried over 100 Indian migrants who had failed to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States. These flights, which are typically operated by chartered planes, have been a hallmark of the U.S. government’s efforts to enforce immigration laws and address the increasing number of illegal entries and overstays.

This particular flight was routed to Punjab, a state in India close to the deportees’ places of origin, underscoring the logistical efforts made to return individuals to regions familiar to them. However, U.S. officials did not disclose specific details about the deportees’ hometowns. The year 2024 saw a sharp rise in the number of Indian nationals being repatriated, with over 1,000 individuals sent back through chartered and commercial flights. This increase is part of a broader trend that has emerged in recent years, marked by a growing number of encounters between Indian nationals and U.S. immigration authorities.

Royce Bernstein Murray, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, confirmed that this uptick in removals reflects both the rising number of encounters with Indian nationals at the U.S. border and a heightened focus on repatriation efforts. The removal of individuals who have overstayed visas or entered the country illegally has been a key priority for U.S. immigration enforcement in recent years, particularly amid growing concerns over border security and illegal immigration.

For India, the increase in deportations is a reflection of broader trends in global migration. In recent years, Indian nationals have been one of the largest groups affected by U.S. deportation efforts, driven in part by the desire for better economic opportunities abroad. The growing number of Indian migrants in the U.S. has led to increased scrutiny by U.S. immigration officials, which in turn has contributed to the higher rate of deportations.

This shift towards larger-scale deportations from the U.S. to India raises important questions about the future of migration policies, both in the U.S. and India, and how these trends will evolve in the coming years. As migration patterns continue to shift globally, the implications for individuals, families, and countries of origin like India remain significant, especially when considering the broader social and economic impacts of these deportations

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Reference: BBC

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