US deports illegal Indian immigrants on chartered flight
Washington: The US deported a number of Indian nationals who were illegally staying in the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the department did not specify how many people were on the flight.
According to a statement by the DHS, it conducted the operations through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on October 22.
“This week’s flight demonstrates the Department’s continued commitment to pursuing sustained cooperation with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling”, it noted.
The DHS enforces the American immigration laws and takes action against those individuals who enter the United States unlawfully. This includes swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the United States while encouraging the use of lawful pathways.
According to the DHS, since June 2024, when the ‘Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation’ and accompanying Interim Final Rule went into effect, encounters between ports of entry into the US along the southwest border have decreased by 55 percent.
“Since June 2024, DHS removed or returned over 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries – including India”, DHS noted.
According to immigration statistics published on the website of US Customs and Border Protection, over 90,000 Indians entered into the U.S. illegally in 2022-23.
