S Jaishankar on Indian Deportations from US: ‘Obligation of All Countries…’

S Jaishankar on Indian Deportations from US: EAM S. Jaishankar went some way towards putting in context the deportation of Indian citizens from the United States, suggesting that every country has a fundamental duty to take back its citizens who have been determined to reside illegally outside of it.

“All countries must take back their nationals if they are found to be living illegally abroad,” he said in Rajya Sabha.

The minister also assured parliamentarians that the Indian government is in constant touch with the US authorities, ensuring that no high-handedness is shown to deportees, and he demanded strict action against the illegal immigration racket.

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“We are engaging with the US govt to ensure that the deportees not be mistreated in any manner. At the same time, the House will appreciate that our focus should be on the strong crackdown against the illegal immigration industry,” Jaishankar said.

“On the basis of information provided by the deportees, law enforcement agencies will take necessary, preventive and exemplary action against the agents and such agencies,” he added.

Jaishankar further said that the deportations by the US are done by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the standard operation procedure for deportation by aircraft used by ICE had been effective since 2013.

"So there has been no change from previous practice regarding the flight undertaken by the US on February 5," he said.

The EAM's statement came in the wake of protests by opposition MPs demanding a discussion in the Parliament regarding the recent deportation of over 100 Indian nationals from the US.

Some members, including Amritsar MP Gurujit Singh Aujla, were seen participating in the protest wearing handcuffs.

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On Wednesday, Amritsar received a military aircraft from the USA with over 100 Indian citizens who had allegedly illegally migrated into the US.

Of these, 33 were from Haryana and Gujarat each, 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh each, and two from Chandigarh.

‘Quite unnecessary’: Cong MP Shashi Tharoor on deportations

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor stated that the United States has the right to deport a person if that person was residing in the United States illegally.

However, he stated that the manner in which the U.S. was deporting these Indian citizens was "not called for" as they were not criminals and did not mean any harm.

In an interview with ANI, Tharoor insists that the US should have put the Indians in the air on a commercial or civilian aircraft. He stressed that deportation should have been done with a little more “humane approach.”

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