US Hires Chartered Flight to Deport Indians Living in the Country Illegally

The US Department of Homeland Security carried out a "large-frame charter removal flight" to India for the deportation of Indian nationals residing illegally in the United States of America, USA. The deportation was performed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in coordination with the Indian government in an attempt to curb irregular migration and work against human smuggling together.

Indian nationals who lack a lawful basis for remaining in the United States are summarily removed, and prospective migrants should not be misled by traffickers who would make otherwise false claims," senior official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie A Canegallo said 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 has repatriated or returned more than 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries including India. It added that 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.

In the last year, DHS has expelled people from several countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, China, and India. According to the statement, "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."

Estimated from Pew Research Centre, Indian illegal immigrants rank third in the USA's unauthorized immigrant list following Mexico and El Salvador. There were about 725,000 Indian illegal immigrants in 2021 in the USA.