Rama Krishna Sangem
US President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office in about a month, and immigration policies are already being tightened. The latest data from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows that 1.45 million individuals are slated for deportation, including nearly 18,000 undocumented Indians.
For many Indians without legal status, the path to regularising their stay is mired in red tape. However, India is far from the top of the list of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Countries bordering the US, such as Honduras and Guatemala, lead the list, with 261,000 and 253,000 undocumented individuals respectively. In Asia, China has the largest number, with 37,908 people without legal status. India ranks 13th, with 17,940 undocumented individuals, according to ICE data released in November 2024.
India listed as ‘uncooperative’ country
India has been classified as one of the “uncooperative” countries in deportation processes under the current administration’s border security measures. Other nations on this list include Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Venezuela.
The ICE report flags issues such as “difficulties in conducting interviews, issuing travel documents in a timely manner, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights in accordance with ICE and/or foreign government removal guidelines.”
I’ll get them into every country, or we won’t do business with those countries,” Trump told Time magazine after being named 2024 “Person of the Year”. He added that countries refusing to accept deported nationals would face “substantial tariffs.”
“I want them out, and the countries have got to take them back. If they don’t take them back, we won’t do business with those countries, and we will impose substantial tariffs on them,” he said.
Indians apprehended at the border
Over the last three years, around 90,000 Indian nationals have been apprehended attempting to enter the United States illegally, according to reports. Many of these migrants come from states like Punjab, Gujarat, and Andhra Prade
