Identity is a matter of pride, not prejudice. For a decade, India was hailed as the rising Asian power to counter China—an economic behemoth, a foreign policy superpower and a vital Vishwaguru. Global Goliaths in business viewed it as a favoured investment destination and an independent power that could coolly thumb its nose at US sanctions by buying Russian oil, because it suited its domestic interests. American presidents and European leaders courted New Delhi with more ardour than Mark Antony had wooed Cleopatra. It looked as if India had regained its old identity as the world’s golden bird or ‘sone ka chidiya’ breaking free of the chains of a colonial hangover and a Noachian socialist legacy.
But this month, the chains were back; illegal Indian migrants were sent back on US military planes, shackled and handcuffed as if they were criminals. They were neither a desi Costra Nostra or even accused of crimes. The White House released the humiliating pictures of Indians, although aliens deported to China, Pakistan and numerous Islamic countries were neither chained nor filmed. Many terror attacks on the West were masterminded by criminals and cyber villains from these countries. Some 100 Pakistani nationals were flown to Panama because Islamabad refused to accept them. Surprisingly, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement have no firm estimates of illegal Pakistani immigrants, and they were not hounded out like Mexicans and Indians.
Indians are Trump’s new pariahs, even though Indian Americans have found 11 per cent of the startups valued at over $1 billion, own around 60 per cent of American hotels and head 16 Fortune 500 companies. They pay $250-300 billion in taxes every year. Yet, singling out India is not new in the US, although it has rarely made prime time. Team Trump’s attempt to minimise India’s relevance in international diplomacy is an indication that the American elite’s weltanschauung is not Bharat-positive.
Last week, the Indian embassy in Panama posted on X: “Panamanian authorities have informed us that a group of Indians have reached Panama from the US. They are safe and secure at a hotel with all essential facilities. The embassy team has obtained consular access.” While the US plans to deport over half a million Indians, South Block has agreed to accept only 18,000. The process of packing them home started earlier, but hit the headlines only after Trump 2.0 decided to signal an international spectacle.
No host government has comprehensive data about actual deportation figures. A data deep-dive reveals a worrisome trend. The US started deporting Indians with a vengeance under Barack Obama’s regime during UPA’s time. During 2009-16, around 6,000 Indians were sent back—an annual average of 750. However, the largest number in a year—1,303—was in 2016. Trump’s first term during 2017–20 saw a massive spike in expulsions—an average of 1,550 Indians a year. The largest number in this era—2,042—came during 2019, when Modi and Trump were flaunting their election-year bonhomie.
Under Joe Biden, there was a minor decline in the Indian bum’s rush: 900 annually, totalling 3,627 for 2021–24. If the number of Indians sent back during Trump’s second tenure is an indication of diplomatic and geopolitical estrangement, it is evident that this POTUS is on track to break his own record despite his avowed friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A large number of deportees are Gujaratis.
None of the previous deportations made headlines because the US authorities did not shackle them in a way that slave traders brought African captives into the Americas in the 17th century. Egomaniacal Trump perhaps cannot tolerate another rising non-white world leader like Modi: his is a World of One.
Part of the blame for the deportation ignominy goes to the Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian government should have made arrangements to bring them back on commercial aircraft. In 2018, Sushma Swaraj announced that India had successfully rescued over 90,000 Indians over four years. The Modi government has an admirable track record of safely bringing citizens home. This time, the opposition has blasted the Centre for its avoidable failure in dealing with the delicate situation which wounds the personal dignity of the immigrants.
Common friends of India and the US are asking awkward questions like why POTUS hasn’t meted the same deplorable treatment to the illegals from Pakistan and China. Optics is the smoke signal of diplomacy, which Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz called ‘war by other means’. Trump seems to have declared an emotional war on India, exulting in the schadenfreude of Viksit Bharat’s disgrace.
According to the US government, there are more than 15 million illegal immigrants in America. Trump’s new hardline deportation policy, launched after his January 20 inauguration, aims to execute the “largest deportation programme in American history”. Mexicans top the list of unauthorised immigrants, with approximately 4.8 million, followed by Guatemalans (675,000) and El Salvador (750,000). Since 2022, about 2 million people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have sneaked into the US. Of this, around 675,000 crossovers were by Indians—a number much smaller than the rest.
Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that it would be almost impossible for Trump to deport even 1 per cent of all illegal immigrants during his tenure. Besides, shrinking the labour force will cripple the $30-trillion US economy. It costs $850,000 per flight to deport 80-100 aliens. Trump’s singling out of India to advertise his new avatar as an ultra-nationalist reflects the adage of having no permanent friends in politics. Trump has neither permanent friends nor interests, except his own.
In his populist crusade, the billionaire president ignores a harsh business reality. Even the least educated Indians have been a net asset for MAGA, as they have added economic value disproportionately larger than the rest of immigrants in the US have. The median annual income of an Indian American is around $170,000—almost double that of other immigrants. About 9 per cent of the doctors in America are of Indian origin; half of them are immigrants. Although they account for just less than 1.5 percent of the population, they pay 6 per cent of America’s total income taxes.
While Silicon Valley’s phenomenal success is attributed to Indian genes and geniuses, every fifth immigrant-founded unicorn there was started by an Indian. Above all, numerous top MNCs are led by people with roots and origins in India, so is a large section of the key officials and policy makers in Trump’s regime. Contrary to the racist rants, Indians are job creators in the US, not job robbers. They are law-abiding citizens, not law-breakers. Few of them have been roadblocks to the survival of local cultures or conventions.
By resorting to barbarous expulsions, the US establishment has excoriated the soul of the Indian identity. If it wants the Indian market, then America must shun such contumelious conduct. For MAGA to be the ruling ideology of the US, Trump needs Modi and Indians as allies and accelerators.
Prabhu Chawla can be reached at Prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com. Follow him on X @PrabhuChawla