Nearly 18,000 Indians Identified For Deportation By US Agency As Trump Vows Immigration Crackdown

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans for carrying out the largest deportation exercise in American history after he takes office on 20 January 2025.

In preparation, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has identified around 1.5 million individuals for deportation, including nearly 18,000 undocumented Indian nationals who may soon be sent back to India.

ICE data from November 2024 reveals that 17,940 Indians are part of the 1.5 million people listed on the non-detained docket with final removal orders in the United States.

Indians accounts for about 725,000 illegal immigrants in the US, ranking as the third-largest group of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador, as per Pew Research Center data.

In October, ahead of the release of this data, the US used a chartered flight to deport Indian nationals staying in the country illegally.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the flight, sent to India on 22 October, was arranged in coordination with the Indian government.

Thousands of undocumented Indians in the US are struggling to legalise their status, with many waiting years for clearance from ICE.

Over the past three financial years, an average of 90,000 Indians have been caught while trying to cross US borders illegally.

Honduras leads the deportation list with 261,651 undocumented immigrants, followed by Guatemala, Mexico, and El Salvador, as per the ICE document.

India has been labelled "uncooperative" by ICE due to delays in coordination efforts by the authorities.

The document has also stated that the US government expects the appropriate steps by the foreign government to confirm the citizenship of non-citizens believed to be their nationals.

"Conducting interviews, issuing travel documents in a timely manner, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights consistent with ICE and/or foreign government removal guidelines," stated the ICE document, India Today reported.

Countries that fail to cooperate in accepting the return of their nationals will be categorised by ICE as uncooperative or at-risk of non-compliance.

"Currently, ICE considers 15 countries to be uncooperative -- India, Bhutan, Burma, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Iran, Laos, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Russia, Somalia, and Venezuela," ICE said in a statement.

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