RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-1680
ANSWERED ON- 13/03/2025
US POLICY OF DEPORTING INDIAN CITIZENS
#1680. SHRI RAMJI LAL SUMAN
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) the number of persons deported by the US to India since January 2025;
(b) the details of the persons deported, State-wise; and
(c) the details of the steps taken by Government of India to tackle the US Government's policy of deporting Indian citizens in a pitiable condition by military planes?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) to (c)Since January 2025 till date, a total of 388 Indian nationals have been deported to India from the United States. Of these, 333 Indian nationals, after verification, were deported to India directly from the U.S. They arrived in three separate flights that landed in Amritsar, India on 5th, 15th and 16th February 2025 respectively. The breakup of the 333 deportees (state-wise) is placed below:
| State/UT-wise |
Feb 5 |
Feb 15 |
Feb 16 |
Total |
|
Punjab |
30 |
65 |
31 |
126 |
|
Haryana |
33 |
33 |
44 |
110 |
|
Gujarat |
33 |
8 |
33 |
74 |
|
Uttar Pradesh |
3 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
|
Maharashtra |
3 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
|
Chandigarh |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Goa |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Rajasthan |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Himachal Pradesh |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Jammu & Kashmir |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Uttarakhand |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Total |
104 |
117 |
112 |
333 |
Separately, the U.S. side deported 55 Indian nationals through Panama. The travel of these de-portees to India on commercial flights was facilitated by Panama with the assistance of the In-ternational Organization of Migration (IOM). Panama is undertaking these deportations on be-half of the United States under a bilateral arrangement. The details of the Indian citizens (state-wise) who returned from the U.S. via Panama are as follows:
| State/UT-wise |
Feb 20 |
Feb 23 |
Feb 27 |
Feb 28 |
Mar 2 |
Total |
|
Punjab |
0 |
4 |
8 |
6 |
9 |
27 |
|
Haryana |
2 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
22 |
|
Uttar Pradesh |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
Gujarat |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
Rajasthan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Total |
2 |
12 |
11 |
9 |
21 |
55 |
ICE authorities of USA organize and execute deportations as per the Standard Operating Procedure, effective from November 2012, which provides for use of restraints on deportees.The US side has mentioned that the policy of restraints is followed to ensure the safety and security of the mission. While women and minors are generally not shackled, the flight officer in charge of a deportation flight has the final say on the matter. Government has strongly registered its concerns with the U.S. authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on the 5th February deportation flight, particularly with respect to use of shackles, especially on women. The U.S. side has confirmed that no women or children were restrained on the deportation flights that landed in India on February 15th and 16th respectively. This has been confirmed and recorded by our agencies after interviewing the deportees on their arrival in India.
Government has also registered its concerns regarding the need to accommodate the religious sensitivities and food preferences of the deportees. In this regard, the U.S. side has conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs that detainees on the three deportation flights (that landed on 05, 15 and 16 February 2025 respectively) were not instructed to remove any religious head coverings and that the detainees did not request any religious accommodations during the flights aside from requesting for vegetarian meals.
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