The government of India told Parliament on Friday that the United States has assured it that none of the women and children were restrained in flight during the deportation to India last month
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had already complained to US authorities about the reported use of shackles by deportees, mostly women, on a flight that arrived in India on February 5. In reprisal, Washington promised that “no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on February 15 and 16 respectively.”
India Questions US Deportation Practices
The issues were taken up by the Indian government while answering questions posed by Rajya Sabha member John Brittas, who had asked if New Delhi had officially requested the US administration to avoid handcuffing or shackling deportees.
“The US ICE authorities organise and execute deportations as per the Standard Operating Procedure, effective from November 2012, which provides for the use of restraints on deportees. The US side has mentioned that restraints are used to ensure the safety and security of deportation missions on both chartered civilian aircraft as well as military aircraft. While women and minors are generally not shackled, the flight officer in charge of a deportation flight has the final say on the matter,” the government replied.
Increasing Numbers of Indian Deportees
A total of 388 Indian deportees have landed back in India since January 2025, following US President Donald Trump ordering an executive mandate requiring all illegal immigrants to be removed with effect from that month.
In the past month, a US military plane carried 104 deported Indian citizens from San Antonio, Texas, to Amritsar. Utilizing a C-17 military plane for deportation purposes attracted attention and raised questions regarding the handling of deportees.
Uncertain Data on Indian Illegal Immigrants in the US
The government of India has admitted that no official estimate is available of Indian passport holders now living illegally in the US. Yet, as per the estimates of the Pew Research Center data, there live in the US around 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants, ranking them the third-largest immigrant group after Salvadorans and Mexicans. The Migration Policy Institute estimates the figure at nearly half this number, underlining discrepancies between available data.
While the US continues to accelerate deportations, the Indian government continues to negotiate with US officials to ensure equitable treatment of its citizens during repatriation.
