While maintaining that India is engaging with the US to ensure that deportees are not mistreated on their flight back to the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called for strong government crackdown on illegal immigration as well as steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers.
Jaishankar was responding to the deportation of 104 illegal immigrants by the Trump government in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, when he said, “On the basis of information provided by returning deportees (from the US) about the agents and others involved, law enforcement agencies will take necessary preventive and exemplary actions.”
The Centre’s acceptance of the Trump regime’s decision to send back deportees in an US military plane, with their hands and feet in shackles, drew much criticism from the Opposition.
‘ICE allows use of restrain’
Congress MP Randeep Surjewala asked if the government was aware that the deportees were handcuffed and that up to 7,50,000 Indians in the US had reportedly been identified as illegal immigrants who are to be deported.
He also sought information about the number of Indians who had been placed in deportation centres in the US and the number of immigrants who had received consular access.
Jaishankar, in his statement, pointed out that the standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that is effective from 2012, provides for the use of restraints.
“However, we have been informed by ICE that women and children are not restrained. Further, the needs of deportees during transit, related to food and other necessities, including possible medical emergencies are attended to. During toilet breaks, deportees are temporarily unrestrained if needed in that regard,” he said.
We are, of course, engaging with the US Government to ensure that the returning deportees are not mistreated in any manner during the flight, Jaishankar added.
Opposition MPs quizzed the government on why it had not sent its own flight to bring back the deportees. “We are the fifth largest economy in the world and soon we will become ‘Vishwa Guru’. As ‘Vishwa Guru’, our citizens are being shackled in chains when countries like Colombia, which doesn’t even figure in the top 10, can send an aircraft and bring their citizens back with dignity. What stops our government from sending an aircraft? We don’t have a shortage of it,” Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said in Parliament.
Jaishankar said the process of deportation is not a new one and has been going on for several years.