NEW DELHI: The US has shared a list of 487 individuals presumed to be Indian citizens who face final removal orders, meaning they are slated for deportation. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Friday disclosed that details of 298 of these individuals had been received by India for document verification.
Misri was addressing the media ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France and the US, where he was questioned about the deportation of Indian nationals, particularly in light of a broader list of 18,000 names of illegal Indian immigrants shared by the US. Sources said the list of 487 individuals was in addition to the 96 persons whose documents had already been verified for deportation. These 96 individuals were initially part of the first batch of 204 deportees, 104 of whom arrived in Amritsar on a US Air Force plane on February 5.
Four individuals from this batch were currently being re-verified, they said. Regarding the list of 487 individuals, Misri stated, “We have sought details, which have been provided to us with regard to 298 individuals… We have been very transparent on this issue with our US counterparts.”
When asked about reports of handcuffing and shackling of deportees, the Foreign Secretary said, “The mistreatment of deportees is a valid issue to raise. We continue to emphasise to the US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees… We will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention.”
He also noted that the recent deportation involving a military plane was “somewhat different” from routine deportation flights. “The process of deportation is not new. It is something that the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also emphasised in Parliament yesterday,” said Misri.
Jaishankar, addressing the issue in Parliament on Thursday, explained that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) followed a standard operating procedure from 2012, which allowed for the use of restraints under certain conditions. However, he clarified that women and children were not restrained, and deportees were unrestrained during toilet breaks.
Misri highlighted the importance of cooperation between India and the US on deportation matters, stating, “Any country in the world, if it wants to accept its nationals back, will want to have the assurance that whosoever is coming back is a citizen of that country. There are issues of legality and security associated with it.” He also stressed the need for systemic action against the ecosystem that promoted illegal immigration.