US deportations continue: More Indian migrants return home

A third US Air Force C-17 transport plane carrying deported Indian migrants has landed in Punjab, northern India, marking the latest wave of removals of undocumented Indian nationals from the United States.

The flight repatriated 112 individuals who had been living illegally in the US. Among them were residents from the Indian states of Gujarat, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, Caliber.Az reports referring to Indian media.

Since the beginning of February, a total of 335 Indian nationals have been deported aboard US military aircraft.

On February 7, India’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Vikram Misri confirmed that the US authorities plan to deport nearly 500 more Indian migrants in the near future. New Delhi has stated that it will accept all deported nationals and continue cooperating with Washington on the matter.

The US has identified approximately 18,000 Indian nationals who may face deportation. The removal of undocumented migrants has been a key policy under Donald Trump, who has pushed for a mass deportation strategy.

During his recent visit to Washington, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India’s commitment to accepting its nationals who had entered the US illegally. He also vowed to combat human trafficking networks, which he said prey on vulnerable individuals by offering false promises of a better future abroad.

"These are children of very ordinary families, and they are lured by big dreams and promises," Modi stated.

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicates a tenfold increase in the number of Indian asylum requests in the US, rising from 5,000 in 2021 to over 51,000 in 2023. While this surge has been particularly sharp in the US, similar trends have been observed in Canada, the UK, and Australia, where Indian nationals now rank among the largest asylum-seeking groups.

It remains unclear what specific factors have contributed to this rise, particularly in Punjab, where Congress (2017–2022) and the Aam Aadmi Party (2022–present) have governed in recent years.

Under the second Trump administration, asylum applications are expected to decline sharply. Within his first week back in office, a key migrant app used for scheduling immigration appointments was shut down and removed, leading to the cancellation of nearly 300,000 pending cases, including asylum requests already under review.

Between 2009 and 2024, around 16,000 Indian nationals were deported, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Deportations averaged 750 per year under Barack Obama, 1,550 under Trump’s first term, and 900 under Joe Biden.

The most significant spike occurred between fiscal years 2023 and 2024, with a previous peak in 2020, when nearly 2,300 Indian migrants were deported.

By Tamilla Hasanova