New Delhi: Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar responded in Parliament on the issue of illegal immigrants from America. Jaishankar said in the Rajya Sabha that if a citizen is found living illegally abroad, then it is the responsibility of all countries to call back that citizen. He said that we are contacting the US government to ensure that the deportees are not mistreated in any way. On the issue of handcuffing people, the Foreign Minister said that handcuffing illegal people is in the US policy.
He said, we know that 104 people came back on Wednesday. We had information about these people, we are the ones who confirmed the nationality of those people. Jaishankar said, we should not think that this is a new case. He said that this is a case that has been happening before. He told that the Modi government has instructed the officials to sit with every person returning (Indian deported from America) and find out how they went to America, who was the agent, and how we should take precautions so that this does not happen again. He said that at the same time, the House would appreciate that our focus should be on strict action against the illegal immigration industry. He said that based on the information provided by the deportees, law enforcement agencies will take necessary, preventive and exemplary action against the agents and such agencies.
Jaishankar informed that the deportation from the US side is organized and implemented by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authority.
Earlier, Congress member Shashi Tharoor said that he (PM Modi) is going to visit the US next week, we certainly hope that he will firmly tell the Americans that they can send people back, they have every legal right, but they cannot behave indecently like this. Earlier, members of opposition parties raised strong slogans in the Lok Sabha on the issue of sending back illegal Indian immigrants from the US.
Statement by External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar in Lok Sabha (February 6, 2025)
