First batch of illegal Indian immigrants deported from United States

A U.S. military aircraft onboard the first batch of illegal Indian immigrants living in the United States is on its way to India

[U.S. military aircraft C-17 ready to deport illegal immigrants. (Image source: X)]

San Antonio (Texas): A U.S. military aircraft onboard the first batch of illegal Indian immigrants living in the United States is on its way to India.

American President had promised to clear the United States of the illegal immigrants after winning the 2024 elections. Accordingly, he signed the executive order in this regard on very first day in office.

In the mass deportation drive which began last week, hundreds of illegal immigrants were deported to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.

How many illegal Indian immigrants in U.S.?

There are an estimated 725,000 Indians illegally living in different parts of the United States - the third-largest group of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador, according to the Pew Research Centre.

Almost all illegal immigrants face deportation. And, the first batch of illegal Indian immigrants were deported Tuesday.

According to news agency Reuters, the US military aircraft C-17 carrying 205 Indians departed from San Antonio, Texas, around 03:00 am IST on Tuesday and will land in Amritsar in Punjab at around 09:00 am on Wednesday.

Before arriving in India, the plane is likely to stop at Ramstein, Germany, for refuelling.

More deportations soon

This is just the beginning. It is feared that many more illegal Indian immigrants will be deported from the Unites States in coming weeks.

At least 20,407 undocumented Indians could be affected by the current deportation drive, according to India Today.

Of them, 17,940 are individuals without proper documents with final removal orders, according to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The remaining 2,467 Indians are currently in detention under the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These figures were last updated in 2022 and the number could be way higher.

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