Tackling illegal immigration has topped the to-do list of President Donald Trump in his first days in the Oval Office, with his administration firing threats at source countries left, right and centre.
“In the first week of the Trump Administration, we have fulfilled President Trump's promise to the American people,” said the US Department of Homeland Security as Trump 2.0 launched a massive crackdown against illegal immigrants.
As per the official data released by the DHS, in the seven days since Donald Trump returned to the White House, the law enforcement officials have returned 7,300 ‘illegal aliens.’
From tariff war with Colombia to working on ‘Safe Third Country agreement’ agreement with El Salvador, Trump’s drive against illegal immigrants has created ripples across the world.
India, which has one of the top sources of undocumented immigrants, stands at crucial crossroads on this issue.
The issue will be in the spotlight when Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Washington next month to meet Trump.
In a White House read out, Trump said that PM Modi will visit US "sometime in February.” The statement came after Trump spoke with Modi on Monday.
This is the first time the two leaders have spoken after Trump returned to the Oval Office. The Monday phone call makes PM Modi the first leader in the Indo-Pacific region to speak with the US president.
Elephant in the room
After the telephonic conversation, Trump said that he also had a discussion on illegal immigrants with PM Modi and expressed confidence that "India will do what is right".
The statement comes days after India’s ministry of external affairs said that New Delhi is ready to take back the undocumented immigrants from US.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that if the nationality of the immigrants is verified, New Delhi will take the necessary action. Previously, a Bloomberg report said that Department of Homeland Security has identified around 18,000 illegal immigrants from India.
According to a report by Pew Research, India ranked number 3 in terms of the illegal immigration. The 2019-2022 report said that around seven lakh Indians are living in the US without any legal documentation.
On the other hand, the new 2022 DHS data says that around 220,000 illegal immigrants from India were living in the US. The Center for Migration Studies of New York has also pegged the illegal immigrants from India at much higher scale in comparison with the DHS data.
While India may be one of the top sources of illegal immigrants, there is a twist in the tale. A large number of Indians also migrate to the US, legally. Thanks to the popularity of the H-1B visas, Indians form the biggest group of skilled workers in the US.
While Trump has been tough on the illegal immigrants, same is not the case when it comes to H-1B visas. And this may be the trump card for New Delhi to navigate the new storm brewing in Washington.
Another key aspect of this entire issue is the status of Indo-US bilateral trade. According to the 2024-25 data, with nearly 19% of total exports, the US is India’s biggest export destination.
With the US being one of the biggest trade partners of India, President Trump may have a slightly more nuanced stance on the immigration policies with respect to Modi government.
The last time PM Modi visited the US was in September 2024, when he attended the Quad Summit hosted by then-US president Joe Biden. He had also addressed the ‘Summit of the Future’ at the UNGA in New York.
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