2,273 Indian nationals deported from US this year: MEA
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday confirmed that 2,273 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States to India in 2026, so far.
“The total number of Indians deported from the United States to India in 2026 from 1st January till date is 2,273. In 2025, a total of 3,567 Indian nationals were deported from the United States,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated during a biweekly media briefing.
“We continue to work with several foreign governments on deportation issues. As and when such issues are referred to us, we do conduct due diligence on our side to confirm the nationality of the person concerned who is being referred for deportation. Once we are fully satisfied that the person concerned is of Indian nationality, only then do we facilitate their travel or return to India,” the spokesperson further detailed.
India has been reiterating its longstanding stance against illegal migration and emphasised its commitment to promoting legal pathways of migration.
“Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country, and he or she is referred to us with documents if there are claims that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, we confirm the nationality, and then we are in a position to take them back. And this is what has been happening with deportations from the United States,” the MEA spokesperson has stated earlier.
Tightening the immigration regulations, the White House defended President Donald Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee last month and vowed to appeal after a federal judge struck down the policy, ruling that the administration exceeded its authority and imposed an unlawful tax.
“President Trump has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens he determines is not in America’s best interests, and that is exactly what he did,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told IANS.
“The H-1B programme has been abused for decades, and President Trump finally took action to fix it. A federal judge in Washington already upheld a nearly identical order, and the Administration is confident this order will be reversed on appeal,” she said in response to a question.