India is set to begin the verification and deportation process after the US identified around 18,000 illegal Indian immigrants, Bloomberg reports. Anonymous sources close to the matter said the figure could be much higher, as it is unclear exactly how many live in the US presently.
According to the outlet, "India is working behind the scenes to appease the Trump administration" and avoid trade conflict. Modi's government hopes in return that Trump will protect legal immigration channels such as the controversial H-1B program, which many skilled Indians use to gain work in the US. Almost three-fourths of the 386,000 H-1B visas granted in 2023 were Indian citizens, according to official data.
“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 India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “The latest deportation of Indian nationals from the US by a chartered flight is a result of this cooperation,” he stated, referring to an October repatriation action.
