The Ministry of External Affairs informed on Thursday that India has close cooperation with the United States regarding migration issues, especially the deportation of Indian nationals with illegal status.
Since January 2025, approximately 1080 Indians have been deported from the United States, with about 62 per cent of them returning through commercial flights.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that, "We have close cooperation between India and the United States on migration issues, on deportation of Indian nationals who are either in illegal status there or who travel illegally; we take them back once we receive details about them."
"The update on the numbers is that since January of 2025, we have some 1080 Indians who have come back or who have been deported from the United States. Of these, around 62 per cent have come on commercial flights," he added.
Mr Jaiswal also spoke about the current row involving the Trump administration and Harvard University. He noted that he is aware about the issues and the US government's updated guidance regarding Student and Exchange Visitor visa applicants.
He responded saying that for the Government of India, the welfare of Indian students abroad will always remain the “utmost priority” and India will continue to follow further developments regarding the issue.
"While we note that issuance of a visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the application of Indian students will be considered a merit, and they will be able to join their academic programs on time," Mr Jaiswal said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday ordered US embassies all over the world to not schedule new interviews for student-visa applicants as the Trump administration considers ramping up vetting of social media profiles, as reported by Politico.
This directive would make it more difficult for foreign students to get an entry into US schools and colleges.
"Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days," the cable states. ("Septel" is State Department shorthand for "separate telegram.")
