The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday confirmed that 2,417 Indians have been deported from the United States between January 20 and September 25, 2025. The issue of deportations has drawn renewed attention following the repatriation of Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman from Punjab, who had lived in the US for nearly 30 years before being sent back.
India’s stand on illegal migration
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India remains firmly opposed to illegal migration and is committed to promoting legal and safe mobility options for its citizens. “We want to promote legal pathways for migration. At the same time, India stands against illegal migration,” Jaiswal said at a press briefing.
He explained that whenever any Indian national is found to be staying in another country without proper documentation, the government works to verify their identity. “Once the Indian nationality of any person who is in any country without legal status is proved, they are taken back. This is also the case with the US,” he noted.
Background checks before deportation
Jaiswal clarified that the Indian government conducts thorough background checks before accepting deportees. “Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country and he or she is referred to us, we do the background check and confirm the nationality,” he said.
Crackdown on visa fraud and human smuggling
The MEA spokesperson also emphasized that the government is working closely with state authorities to crack down on visa fraud and illegal migration networks. “We want to see how best we can clamp down on illegal migration because that undermines our efforts to promote legal migration,” he added.
This statement comes amid a series of US immigration enforcement actions targeting undocumented immigrants and overstayers, particularly from South Asia.
Case of Harjit Kaur
The deportation of Harjit Kaur has drawn emotional responses on social media, with many highlighting the human cost of strict immigration enforcement. Despite living in the US for three decades, Kaur was denied the chance to bid farewell to her family before being placed on a flight to India.
The MEA’s remarks underline the dual approach of facilitating legitimate travel opportunities while cooperating with foreign governments on deportations of those found residing abroad illegally.
