NEW DELHI: India has raised concerns with the United States over the mistreatment of deported Indian nationals, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday.
The issue gained attention after 104 Indians were deported on a US military aircraft that landed in Amritsar on Wednesday. Reports of the deportees being handcuffed and mistreated during the journey sparked widespread outrage.
Meanwhile, the United States has notified India about 487 individuals, believed to be Indian nationals, who have received removal orders. Of these, the nationality verification process is underway for 295 individuals, Misri said. Once this process is over they will be sent back.
"We've been told there are 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders," Misri said, adding that details of 298 individuals have been shared with Indian authorities.
It is learnt that 94 Indian immigrants, whose nationality has been verified can return anytime.
In response to questions about whether India had registered its protest to the US over the mistreatment of its nationals, the Foreign Secretary said: "It is a valid issue to raise and we continue to emphasise to the US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees..We will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention. Action needs to be taken across the system against the underlying ecosystem that thrives on promoting illegal immigration."
"We have been in touch with the US and have registered our concern," he said in response to a question about whether India, like Brazil and Colombia, had protested the use of handcuffs and chains on deportees.
Responding to yet another question of whether there is any record of the government of the day, (Congress-led UPA), protesting the use of restraints since 2012, the Foreign Secretary said there is "no record" of the same.
On the US government using military aircraft to deport the Indian nationals, Misri stated that the operation was “somewhat different” from previous repatriations, as it was classified by the US as a “national security operation.”
“This particular deportation is different from earlier flights. In the US system, it was described as a national security operation.. We will consider any alternatives,” Misri said.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various states landed in India on Wednesday, marking the first group of Indians deported under the Trump administration's crackdown, which it had committed to implementing upon taking office last month.
The Foreign Secretary dismissed the US authorities classification that India was uncooperative in accepting deportees.
"Every country seeks assurance that those being deported are its citizens, as there are legal and security considerations at play," Misri explained.
He said India takes back illegal immigrants from every country, including the US, once their nationalities are verified.
Meanwhile, Congress leader and former union minister Manish Tiwari took exception to Misri’s statement that there was "no record” of the previous government protesting the use of restraints on deportees from the US, despite the practice having been in place since 2012.
"I do not recall a single instance where Indian citizens, bound and treated virtually like animals, were deported en masse during the UPA government's tenure. There is no public record to suggest such an occurrence," Tiwari said.
"One can search the public records, but I don’t recall a single case where Indians were handcuffed, shackled, denied basic human rights, boarded onto a military plane, and dumped in India after 40 hours," he reiterated adding that the foreign secretary "might be under certain duress to make such statements."
