US Hires Chartered Flight To Deport Indian Nationals Staying In Country Illegally

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted a “large-frame charter removal flight” to India to deport Indian nationals who were staying in the United States of America (USA) illegally.

This procedure was conducted through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and in cooperation with the Indian government to deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling. 

“Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise,” said senior official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie A Canegallo, in a DHS statement.

“The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce our nation’s laws," Canegallo added.

"DHS continues to enforce U.S. immigration laws and deliver tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully. This includes swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, while encouraging the use of lawful pathways," the department said in the statement.

Since June 2024, DHS removed or returned over 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries—including India.

It said the department regularly engaged with foreign governments throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept repatriations of their nationals without a legal basis to remain in the USA.

Over the last year, DHS has removed individuals from a range of countries worldwide, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, China, and India.

The statement further stated that - “This is one tool among many DHS uses to reduce irregular migration, promote the use of safe, lawful, and orderly pathways, and hold transnational criminal networks accountable for smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people”.

According to the estimates by the Pew Research Centre, Indian illegal immigrants in the USA form the third largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador. There were about 725,000 Indian illegal immigrants in the USA in 2021, according to the estimates.

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