External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said that Government accords highest priority to the safety, security, and well-being of Indian nationals abroad and remains engaged with US authorities on addressing illegal immigration and human trafficking. In reply to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha today, Dr Jaishankar said that India works in close coordination with US on all matters pertaining to deportation of Indian citizens. He said, such deportations are subject to an unambiguous verification of their Indian nationality. He informed the House that since 2009, a total of 18 thousand 822 Indian nationals have been deported to India. He also informed that since January this year, a total of 3,258 Indian nationals have been deported by the US to India and of them, over two thousand individuals were deported on regular commercial flights, while the remaining arrived on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operated charter flights.
The Ministry has strongly registered its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment of deportees, particularly with respect to use of shackles, especially on women and children. Dr Jaishankar said, no instance of shackling of women and children has been brought to the notice of this Ministry since the 5th February deportation flight. He informed that based on the accounts and testimonies given by returning deportees, the Central and respective State Governments have registered a number of cases. He said, investigations as well as actions are ongoing against several illegal immigration agents, criminal facilitators and human trafficking syndicates that run these racket.
