"India Set to Take Back 18,000 Citizens From US to Placate Trump"
"India Set to Take Back 18,000 Citizens From US to Placate Trump"
India’s government is ready to collaborate with Donald Trump’s administration to identify and repatriate its citizens residing illegally in the US, signaling New Delhi’s willingness to cooperate with the incoming American president and mitigate the risk of a trade war.
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(Bloomberg) -- India’s government is ready to collaborate with Donald Trump’s administration to identify and repatriate its citizens residing illegally in the US, signaling New Delhi’s willingness to cooperate with the incoming American president and avoid a potential trade war.
The two nations have identified approximately 18,000 illegal Indian migrants in the US to be repatriated, according to sources familiar with the matter. However, the actual number could be significantly higher, as the total count of illegal Indian migrants in the US remains uncertain. The sources requested anonymity due to the private nature of the discussions.
Like many other countries, India is quietly working to appease the Trump administration and mitigate potential trade threats. Cracking down on illegal migration has been a cornerstone of Trump’s campaign. Within hours of his inauguration on Monday, the new president took steps to deliver on that promise, including efforts to end birthright citizenship and deploy troops to the US-Mexico border.
In return for its cooperation, India hopes the Trump administration will safeguard legal immigration channels used by its citizens to enter the US, particularly student visas and the H-1B program for skilled workers. Indian citizens accounted for nearly three-fourths of the 386,000 H-1B visas issued in 2023, according to official data.
Any reluctance to repatriate illegal US migrants could negatively impact India’s labor and mobility agreements with other nations, sources familiar with the matter said. With a jobs shortage at home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has signed migration agreements with several countries in recent years, including Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Israel.
“As part of India-US cooperation on migration and mobility, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration. This is being done to create more avenues for legal migration from India to the US,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “The latest deportation of Indian nationals from the US by a chartered flight is a result of this cooperation,” he added, referencing an October repatriation action.
Rising Numbers
India is a relatively modest contributor of illegal migrants to the US, with its citizens accounting for about 3% of all unlawful crossings encountered by US border patrol officials in fiscal 2024, according to US Customs and Border Protection data. Latin American countries such as Mexico, Venezuela and Guatemala account for a far larger share.
However, the tally and share of Indian illegal migrants has been rising modestly in recent years. In particular, it has shot up at the less-trafficked northern US border, where Indians account for almost a quarter of all illegal crossings and also the biggest share of unlawful migrants stopped at that entry point, the data show.
While the total number of illegal Indian migrants in the US isn’t certain, a report published last year by the Department of Homeland Security estimated some 220,000 unauthorized Indian immigrants resided in the US as of 2022.
India has already sought to show a cooperative attitude toward US border enforcement efforts, including toward officials in the Biden administration. In October, the Department of Homeland Security said it chartered a “large-scale” repatriation flight of more than 100 Indian nationals without the right to be the US, building on the more than 1,100 Indian citizens deported during the previous 12 months.
Taking back illegal migrants could also further Modi’s goal of deterring secessionist movements overseas, according to people familiar with the discussions, including the so-called Khalistan movement, which seeks to establish a separate Sikh state on Indian soil. India has cracked down on the movement, and officials believe some of the group’s backers in the US and Canada are illegal migrants.
Trade Worries
While Modi is seen to have friendly ties with Trump, and has welcomed the new administration, it is cautious of any unpredictable action from the US president, which could lead to a costly trade war. Trump has repeatedly complained that India’s high import taxes hurt American businesses, and has vowed reciprocal duties on the South Asian nation.
In his first day in office, Trump has focused his attention on immediate neighbors. The US president said on Monday that he was planning to impose tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada by Feb. 1, blaming them for “allowing vast numbers of people” into the country.
Canada in particular was “a very bad abuser,” Trump said, complaining about fentanyl and migrants crossing its US border.
While it’s not fully clear why the northern US border has become such a major entry point for unauthorized migrants from India, reasons could include a halt to visa-free travel for Indians to El Salvador in 2023, and the relative ease of travel to Canada for Indians, according to the Niskanen Center, a Washington-based think tank
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