MEA responds to criticism after 104 alleged Indian illegal immigrants, including women and children, were flown back in shackles and handcuffs on a U.S. military plane, just days before the PM’s U.S. visit
The government said on Friday (February 7, 2025) that it has “registered (its) concerns” with the United States administration in Washington and in Delhi over the handling of 104 alleged illegal immigrants who were deported back to India on Wednesday (February 5, 2025). The deportees had been flown back on a 42-hour flight in a U.S. military plane, in leg shackles and handcuffs.
In particular, officials told The Hindu they had raised their objections to the treatment of women and children on board, while sidestepping questions on whether a formal diplomatic protest had been made. The Hindu had reported accounts of women on board the flight who said they had been handcuffed, and that children who were deported had also been restrained “with ropes around their legs”. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier said in Parliament that U.S. authorities had informed them that women and children “are not restrained” on such flights.
More such deportations are expected, as the U.S. has already identified 487 Indians on its “final removal list”.
Ahead of PM’s U.S. trip
The exchanges are significant, as they take place just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since he was sworn in for his second term last month. Announcing the PM’s visit to Washington on February 12 and 13, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Mr. Modi would fly to the U.S. directly from France where will co-chair the Artificial Intelligence Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 10 and 11.
When asked if Mr. Modi would take up India’s concerns with Mr. Trump, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that American and Indian officials ”are engaging” with each other on this issue already. The deportations caused a furore in Parliament on Thursday and have led to public criticism of the government’s perceived lack of reaction to the way they were treated.
‘In touch with U.S. authorities’
“Yes, we have been in touch with U.S. authorities on this issue on a continuing basis, and we have registered our concerns with U.S. authorities on these matters,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, when asked if India had protested the harsh treatment of deportees, which other countries like Brazil and Colombia have called “inhumane” or “undignified”.
The U.S. Embassy in Delhi did not respond to requests for a response on the Indian “concerns”. The Embassy spokesperson had said earlier this week that the deportations were a matter of U.S. “national security and public safety”.
‘Unprecedented’ use of military plane
The MEA also conceded that the use of a military plane by the American authorities was unprecedented, adding that the U.S. has informed India that more deportations will follow this one. It remains unclear whether the next round of deportations will follow previous procedure, using charter or commercial flights, or the Trump administration’s preferred mode of military flights, which are seen as a way of intimidating the country of origin into taking back illegal immigrants.
“On the use of military planes, this particular deportation is somewhat different compared to the earlier flights that have taken place, because in the U.S. system itself, it was described as a national security operation, and that is perhaps one of the reasons why a military aircraft was used insofar as alternatives are concerned,” Mr. Misri told reporters at the briefing.
Final removal orders
According to the latest figures released by the MEA, the U.S. has told the government that they have identified “487 presumed Indian citizens” with final removal orders and details have been supplied to India on 298 such individuals thus far. The U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website says that more than 24,000 Indians have been detained for immigration violations. It is estimated that there are 7.25 lakh Indians in the U.S. who are undocumented.
Soon after taking charge as President again, Mr. Trump declared a “national border emergency” and directed all concerned authorities including the U.S. Department of Defence to facilitate the rapid removal of illegal immigrants through crackdowns and “mass deportations”.
Government flags concerns over U.S. shackling of Indian deportees
MEA responds to criticism after 104 alleged Indian illegal immigrants, including women and children, were flown back in shackles and handcuffs on a U.S. military plane, just days before the PM’s U.S. visit
The government said on Friday (February 7, 2025) that it has “registered (its) concerns” with the United States administration in Washington and in Delhi over the handling of 104 alleged illegal immigrants who were deported back to India on Wednesday (February 5, 2025). The deportees had been flown back on a 42-hour flight in a U.S. military plane, in leg shackles and handcuffs.
In particular, officials told The Hindu they had raised their objections to the treatment of women and children on board, while sidestepping questions on whether a formal diplomatic protest had been made. The Hindu had reported accounts of women on board the flight who said they had been handcuffed, and that children who were deported had also been restrained “with ropes around their legs”. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier said in Parliament that U.S. authorities had informed them that women and children “are not restrained” on such flights.
More such deportations are expected, as the U.S. has already identified 487 Indians on its “final removal list”.
Ahead of PM’s U.S. trip
The exchanges are significant, as they take place just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since he was sworn in for his second term last month. Announcing the PM’s visit to Washington on February 12 and 13, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Mr. Modi would fly to the U.S. directly from France where will co-chair the Artificial Intelligence Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 10 and 11.
When asked if Mr. Modi would take up India’s concerns with Mr. Trump, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that American and Indian officials ”are engaging” with each other on this issue already. The deportations caused a furore in Parliament on Thursday and have led to public criticism of the government’s perceived lack of reaction to the way they were treated.
‘In touch with U.S. authorities’
“Yes, we have been in touch with U.S. authorities on this issue on a continuing basis, and we have registered our concerns with U.S. authorities on these matters,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, when asked if India had protested the harsh treatment of deportees, which other countries like Brazil and Colombia have called “inhumane” or “undignified”.
The U.S. Embassy in Delhi did not respond to requests for a response on the Indian “concerns”. The Embassy spokesperson had said earlier this week that the deportations were a matter of U.S. “national security and public safety”.
‘Unprecedented’ use of military plane
The MEA also conceded that the use of a military plane by the American authorities was unprecedented, adding that the U.S. has informed India that more deportations will follow this one. It remains unclear whether the next round of deportations will follow previous procedure, using charter or commercial flights, or the Trump administration’s preferred mode of military flights, which are seen as a way of intimidating the country of origin into taking back illegal immigrants.
“On the use of military planes, this particular deportation is somewhat different compared to the earlier flights that have taken place, because in the U.S. system itself, it was described as a national security operation, and that is perhaps one of the reasons why a military aircraft was used insofar as alternatives are concerned,” Mr. Misri told reporters at the briefing.
Final removal orders
According to the latest figures released by the MEA, the U.S. has told the government that they have identified “487 presumed Indian citizens” with final removal orders and details have been supplied to India on 298 such individuals thus far. The U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website says that more than 24,000 Indians have been detained for immigration violations. It is estimated that there are 7.25 lakh Indians in the U.S. who are undocumented.
Soon after taking charge as President again, Mr. Trump declared a “national border emergency” and directed all concerned authorities including the U.S. Department of Defence to facilitate the rapid removal of illegal immigrants through crackdowns and “mass deportations”.
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