The US has, for the first time, hired a chartered flight to send back Indian nationals who stayed in the country illegally, the US Department of Homeland Security said on Friday, adding that this has been done in cooperation with the Indian government.
"Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise," Kristie A Canegallo, acting deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement.
The chartered flight was sent to India on October 22. The statement said the Department of Homeland Security continues to enforce US immigration laws and deliver tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully by swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the US while encouraging the use of lawful pathways.
Since June 2024, when the presidential proclamation on securing the border and the Interim Final Rule came into effect, encounters between ports of entry along the US' southwest border have decreased by 55%.
In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Homeland Security removed or returned over 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries, including India, the statement said. It said the department regularly engaged with foreign governments throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept repatriations of their nationals without a legal basis to remain in the US.
It added this was one tool among many the US used to reduce irregular migration, promote the use of safe, lawful and orderly pathways, and hold transnational criminal networks accountable for smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people.
There have been recent reports that Indians have tried to use the Canada route to enter the US illegally instead of the Mexico route due to tightening of vigil along the Mexico-US border.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/latest-updates/us-charters-flight-to-send-back-indians-staying-illegally/articleshow/114631442.cms
