Shashi Tharoor says: No US military aircraft should have been used to deport "illegal Indians" overstaying in the United States.
"I have heard that they have sent them on a military plane. Well, that is the only thing that I am not happy about. I think the US is entirely entitled to deport those people who they deem to be illegally present in their country and whose nationality can be established beyond doubt.
So these are Indians, and they are in another country without authorisation, then India has a legal obligation to take them back. But I do believe it would have been better for the US to have sent these people on a regular commercial flight, or if necessary, on a civilian charter, than doing so on a military aircraft," Tharoor told 'Indian Express' in an interview.
He further said:
"Those who are going for legitimate purposes, like studies, tourism or on work visas such as the H-1B visa, they have no problem going to the US. It is only those who have gone illegally or who have gone on a pretense, like going on a tourist visa and then overstaying and working and so on, who are affected by such orders.
And I think that it is entirely not the business of the Government of India to encourage our own citizens to go outside illegally. In fact, we want our citizens to observe the law, just as we expect foreigners in our country to observe our laws.
It's GHAR WAPSI ... but the tale is new as the C-17 US military aircraft landed at the Amritsar airport on Feb 5 with 104 illegal immigrants.
104 individuals comprise 79 men and 25 women
Amid reports of the Trump administration deporting migrants to India via military aircraft, a US embassy spokesperson said that the United States is rigorously tightening immigration laws and removing illegal migrants.
Officials, including US Embassy representative, present at Amritsar airport
Punjab Minister says will discuss deportation issue with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar
The plane carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants, including 13 children, landed in Amritsar on Wednesday amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented aliens in America.
This is the first time that Indian illegal immigrants have been deported from the US.
The C-17 US military aircraft, which took off from San Antonio, Texas, landed at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at 1.59 pm. Police and civil administration officials were present to receive the 104 individuals comprising 79 men and 25 women
Of the 104 illegal immigrants, 33 each are from Haryana and Gujarat; 30 from Punjab; three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh; and two from Chandigarh.
Most of the deported individuals were caught at the US-Mexico border.
The deportees are not offenders in India, as they might have used the legal route to leave the country, but tried entering the US via the illegal "donkey" route.
There is also no ground for arrest as they have not violated Indian laws.
Earlier reports said that there were some 200 Indians on board the military aircraft, but it was confirmed later that there were only 104.
The state's NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said he would meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar next week to discuss to issue.
Dhaliwal said these individuals, who contributed to the country's economy, should have been granted permanent residency instead of being deported.
Meanwhile, Shashi Kant, the former DGP of Punjab, also slammed the deportation, calling it a "shrewd political move".
TRUMP'S DEPORTATION PLEDGE - LARGEST IN US HISTORY
Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation in American history, and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has compiled an initial list of nearly 18,000 undocumented Indian nationals, among 1.5 million individuals marked for deportation.
Approximately 725,000 illegal immigrants from India live in the US, making it the third-largest population of unauthorised immigrants after Mexico and El Salvador, according to data from the Pew Research Centre.
The Pentagon has also started providing flights to deport more than 5,000 immigrants held by US authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
Migration has been among the key issues discussed by India and the US since Trump took charge last month, and is also expected to come up during Trump’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely to take place in Washington next week.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also “emphasised” the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to address “concerns related to irregular migration” when he met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar last month.
New Delhi has since said it will take back such illegal immigrants after verifying their details.
The US is India’s largest trading partner and the two countries are forging deeper strategic ties as they look to counter China.
So far, military aircraft have flown migrants to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
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Great News!
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