Lok Sabha Question No. 3488 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-21
Subject: Illegal Immigration of Indian Citizens
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Adv. Adoor Prakash, Shri K Radhakrishnan, Adv Dean Kuriakose, Shri K C Venugopal, Shri Manickam Tagore B, Shri Asaduddin Owaisi, Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3488 ANSWERED ON- 21/03/2025

## ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION OF INDIAN CITIZENS

## 3488 SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI

SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN

SHRI VIJAYAKUMAR ALIAS VIJAY VASANTH

ADV DEAN KURIAKOSE

ADV ADOOR PRAKASH

SHRI K C VENUGOPAL

SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government is aware of reports of large numbers of Indian citizens attempting illegal entry into various countries particularly the United States of America;

(b) if so, the details of Indian citizens arrested for illegal immigration to the United States during the last year indicating the number of such arrests, State-wise;

(c) the number of Indian citizens deported from various countries over the past five years, year-wise and country-wise;

(d) whether the Ministry incurs any expenditure when Indian citizens are deported from other countries and if so, the total expenditure incurred yearwise over the past five years; and

(e) whether the Government has undertaken discussions or agreements with the   United   States   or   other   countries   to   address   the   issue   of   illegal immigration by Indian citizens and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) The Government of India is not in receipt of any firm information from the US Administration regarding the total number of illegal immigrants in the United States holding Indian passports. Foreign nationals who have entered the U.S. illegally, or who have overstayed their visa validity, or found to be staying   in   the   U.S.   without   any   valid   documentation,   or   have   criminal convictions against them are likely to be deported. It is the obligation of all countries to take back their nationals, if they are found to be living illegally abroad. This is however subject to an unambiguous verification of their

nationality. This is not a policy practiced only by India; it is a generally accepted principle in international relations.

(b) & (c) Many foreign countries, including USA, do not provide information on illegal stay in their countries, except when they are under orders of deportation and travel document/nationality verification is required. As such, our Missions and Posts do not have any reliable data on the number of Indians   staying   or   working   illegally   in   foreign   countries.   The   procedure followed for deportation of foreign nationals also varies from country to country. Some countries do not arrest the deportees and keep them in detention/deportation centers until deportation. Moreover, the information about   arrest/detention   and   deportation   is   not   shared   with   Indian Missions/Posts   abroad   and   the   deportation   is   done   directly   by   the   host Government   if   the   deportee   has   a   valid   travel   document.   Indian Missions/Posts abroad are contacted by the host Governments only in such cases   where   the   nationality   verification   and   issuance   of   Emergency Certificate (EC) to the deportee is required. Since all foreign countries do not share details of the Indian deportees, the exact number of Indians deported from foreign countries is not available with this Ministry. The U.S. has been carrying out deportation operations for several years now. The last five years deportations data from the U.S. to India is given below:

| Year             |   No. of Deportees |
|------------------|--------------------|
| 2020             |               1889 |
| 2021             |                805 |
| 2022             |                862 |
| 2023             |                617 |
| 2024             |               1368 |
| 2025 (till date) |                388 |

(d) & (e) Deportation is generally the responsibility of the sending country. Government of India remains engaged with the United States in promoting safe, orderly and legal migration while cracking down on illegal immigration networks.

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