2,273 Indian Nationals Deported From US So Far in 2026: MEA
New Delhi — A total of 2,273 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States to India so far in 2026, the Ministry of External Affairs said Friday.
“The total number of Indians deported from the United States to India in 2026 from Jan. 1 till date is 2,273. In 2025, a total of 3,567 Indian nationals were deported from the United States,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a biweekly media briefing.
Jaiswal said India continues to work with foreign governments on deportation matters and conducts due diligence before accepting individuals identified as Indian nationals.
“As and when such issues are referred to us, we do conduct due diligence on our side to confirm the nationality of the person concerned who is being referred for deportation,” he said. “Once we are fully satisfied that the person concerned is of Indian nationality, only then do we facilitate their travel or return to India.”
India has repeatedly said it opposes illegal migration while supporting legal pathways for people seeking to travel, work or settle abroad.
Jaiswal has previously said that when foreign governments refer people who lack legal immigration status and claim to be Indian citizens, the ministry verifies their documents and conducts background checks before facilitating their return.
“Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country, and he or she is referred to us with documents, if there are claims that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, we confirm the nationality, and then we are in a position to take them back,” he said earlier. “And this is what has been happening with deportations from the United States.”
The deportation figures come as the Trump administration continues to tighten U.S. immigration policies.
The White House last month defended President Donald Trump’s proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee and said it would appeal a federal judge’s ruling that struck down the policy. The judge found that the administration had exceeded its authority and imposed an unlawful tax.
“President Trump has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens he determines is not in America’s best interests, and that is exactly what he did,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
“The H-1B program has been abused for decades, and President Trump finally took action to fix it,” Rogers added. “A federal judge in Washington already upheld a nearly identical order, and the administration is confident this order will be reversed on appeal.” (Source: IANS)
