US hires chartered flight, sends back Indians staying in country illegally

PTC News Desk: The United States hired a chartered flight to deport Indians who were illegally staying in the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which stated that this was done in collaboration with the Indian government.

The charter flight was sent to India on October 22, the department announced on Friday. 

"Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise," said an official of Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.

According to the statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is still enforcing US immigration laws, punishing illegal immigrants severely, and promoting the use of legal routes.

Encounters between ports of entry along the US southwest border have dropped by 55% since the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and related Interim Final Rule went into force in June 2024.

In fiscal year 2024, the DHS removed or returned over 160,000 people and operated over 495 foreign repatriation flights to more than 145 countries, including India, according to the statement.

It stated that the department regularly engages with foreign governments throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept the repatriation of their people who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States.

This was one of several tools used by the United States to limit irregular migration, promote the adoption of safe, lawful, and orderly paths, and hold transnational criminal networks accountable for smuggling and exploiting vulnerable people, according to the report.

Over the last year, DHS has deported people from a variety of nations, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, China, and India.