New York: An official with the US Department of Homeland Security said there has been a steady increase in removal of Indian nationals from US over the past few years, Scroll reported.
Royce Murray, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, reported that the US authorities repatriated 1,100 Indians who tried to enter the country illegally.
Murray told a press briefing that ‘In fiscal year 2024…the United States repatriated over 1,100 Indian nationals.’
The removal, according to Murray, ‘has been part of a steady increase in removals from the United States of Indian nationals over the past few years.’
On October 22 the US sent back to India around 100 illegal migrants on a chartered flight, which is separate from the 1,100 persons repatriated in the fiscal year ended in September, according to report.
Alongside warning of ‘tough consequences’ for unlawful entry attempts to the country, Murray said repatriation was part of the Department of Homeland Security’s move to enforce immigration laws to stop “irregular migration”.
Revealing that the flight with Indian nationals was landed in Punjab, Murray said Indian nationals tried to enter the country through the United States-Mexico and United States-Canada borders.
Murray made it clear that the deportation has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding the allegation of Indian government hired a hitman to kill a Sikh separatist leader in New York.
Calling Indian government an ‘important partner’ in managing undocumented immigration, Murray said the US is ‘pleased with the corporation’ from Indian government and was hoping to see the relationship growing stronger.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency, which compiled the data, said Indians make up 90, 415 of about 29 lakh undocumented immigrants caught trying to enter the country between October 2023 and September this year.
Most Indian illegally entering the US approach the Border Patrol agency to avoid arrest and thus to apply for asylum in the country, according to The Wall Street Journal.