As President-elect Donald Trump is set to start his second term in the Oval Office in the White House, the US prepares the list of nearly 18,000 undocumented Indians slated to be deported from the country. The latest data from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) involves 17,940 Indians among the 1.445 million individuals with final orders of removal. Earlier, Trump pledged to carry out one of the largest deportations in the history of the United States. The US houses approximately 725,000 illegal immigrants from India, which accounts for the third-largest population of unauthorised immigrants. Mexico and El Salvador rank first and second respectively in terms of the number of illegal immigrants, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
Before the release of this data, the US used a chartered flight to deport Indians who were illegally staying in the country. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the fight, which was sent to India on October 22, was organized in collaboration with the Indian government.
Thousands of undocumented Indians seek to legalise status
It is to be noted that thousands of undocumented Indians in the US are seeking to legalise their status, while many await ICE clearance. Over the last three financial years, an average of approximately 90,000 Indians were caught while making efforts to cross the US illegally.
As per the ICE document, Honduras tops the chart in terms of undocumented immigrants with the number going as high as 261,651. It is followed by Guatemala, Mexico, and El Salvador.
Here’s what the US government wants
Moreover, citing delays in coordination by the authorities, the ICE has categorised India as “uncooperative”. According to the document, the US government seeks appropriate steps by the foreign government in order to confirm the citizenship of non-citizens who are believed to be their nationals.
“Conducting interviews, issuing travel documents in a timely manner, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights consistent with ICE and/or foreign government removal guidelines”, ICE document reads.
