NEW DELHI: Last December, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Department of Homeland Security added India to its list of 'uncooperative' countries, intensifying the Trump administration's focus on it along with nations like Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela. The ICE removes individuals subject to final removal orders to their country of citizenship.
In this process, the U.S. government requests that foreign governments take necessary actions to verify the citizenship of individuals suspected to be their nationals. This may include conducting interviews, issuing travel documents promptly when appropriate, and accepting the return of nationals via scheduled commercial flights or, if needed, special charter flights.
A lack of cooperation from the country of origin can delay and, in many cases, obstruct the removal process. Countries that fail to cooperate with the ICE are classified as "uncooperative" or "recalcitrant." Factors leading to this classification include delaying or refusing to take the necessary steps to facilitate the removal, such as verifying citizenship or issuing the required travel documents.
India has maintained that it will accept the return of all its nationals who overstay in any country, including the US, after verifying their nationality.
“Having categorisation such as uncooperative brings in added pressure. We cannot condone illegal migration because a few illegal migrants bring bad name to country which sends lakhs of migrants through legal means,” said a source.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, recently said that India is "firmly opposed to illegal migration, particularly when it is linked to other forms of organized crime."
He added, "As part of the India-US migration and mobility cooperation, both nations are working together to deter illegal migration, while also creating more opportunities for legal migration from India to the US. We are committed to continuing this cooperation."
Last year, under former US President Joe Biden, 271,000 migrants were deported to 192 countries. Of these, 1361 were from India.
ALSO SEE: