As reported by a news source, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Wednesday that India has always been amenable to the “legitimate return” of undocumented Indian immigrants to their homeland. S. Jaishankar stated that they had not yet decided on a figure and that the administration was still in the process of confirming which US citizens could be deported to India.
“As a government, we are obviously very much supportive of legal mobility because we do believe in a global workplace. We want Indian talent and Indian skills to have the maximum opportunity at the global level. At the same time, we are also very firmly opposed to illegal mobility and illegal migration,” Jaishankar told reporters. According to the minister, India has consistently argued with the US and other nations that any Indian national who was present as an undocumented immigrant was free to return home through legal channels.
He went on to say that unlawful immigration may be connected to other criminal activity that harms the nation’s image. It was previously reported that India was collaborating with the administration of US President Donald Trump to deport 1,80,000 Indians who are either undocumented or have overstayed their visas in the US.
“This position is not unique to the United States. I do understand that right now there is a certain debate going on, and a resulting sensitivity which is there, but we have been consistent, we have been very principled about it and that remains our position. I conveyed that clearly to Secretary (of State, Marco) Rubio,” said Jaishankar on the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration. According to Jaishankar, he highlighted in bilateral discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that finding solutions that would legally support mobility was in both countries’ best interests. “If it takes 400-odd days of waiting period to get a visa, I don’t think the relationship is well served by this. He (Rubio) also noted that point,” he said.