India always open to lawful return of undocumented Indians: Jaishankar
When something illegal happens, many other illegal activities get joined to it, which is not desirable; it is certainly not good reputationally, says Jaishankar
India has always been open to the legitimate return of undocumented Indians to their country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday (January 22), noting that New Delhi is still in the process of verifying those from the US who can be deported to India and the number of such individuals cannot be determined yet.
“As a government, we are obviously very much supportive of legal mobility because we do believe in a global workplace. We want Indian talent and Indian skills to have the maximum opportunity at the global level. At the same time, we are also very firmly opposed to illegal mobility and illegal migration,” Jaishankar told a group of Indian reporters in Washington.
“Position not unique to US”
“Because you also know that when something illegal happens, many other illegal activities get joined on to it, which is not desirable. It is certainly not good reputationally. So, with every country, and the US is no exception, we have always maintained that if any of our citizens are there illegally, and if we are sure that they are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India,” Jaishankar said.
Also read: India to take back 18,000 illegal US immigrants to please Trump: Report
The minister was responding to a query on news reports that India is working with the Trump administration for the deportation of some 18,000 Indians in the US who are either undocumented, or have overstayed their visas.
“This position is not unique to the United States. I do understand that right now there is a certain debate going on, and a resulting sensitivity which is there, but we have been consistent, we have been very principled about it and that remains our position. I conveyed that clearly to Secretary (of State, Marco) Rubio,” he said.
Legal, mutually beneficial mobility
“At the same time, I also told him that, while we understand all of this, and I also accept that these are autonomous processes, it is in our mutual interest to facilitate legal and mutually beneficial mobility.
“If it takes 400-odd days of waiting period to get a visa, I don’t think the relationship is well served by this. He (Rubio) also noted that point,” he said.
“But while I’ve seen some numbers... I caution you about them because for us, a number is operative when we can actually validate the fact that the individual concerned is of Indian origin,” Jaishankar added.
On Bangladesh
Jaishankar also said that he had brief discussion on the current situation in Bangladesh with newly-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Also read: Trump backs H-1B visa, says US needs ‘competent people’
“Yes, we had a brief discussion on Bangladesh. I don’t think it’s appropriate that I get into more details,” Jaishankar told the reporters.
However, there was no discussion on the attacks on Indian consulates in the US or the threat to Indian diplomats there, Jaishankar said.
“I didn’t raise those issues on this occasion,” he said.
Attack “very, very serious”
“But I do want to say that the attack on our consulate in San Francisco is a very, very serious matter. It is something for which we expect accountability, and we would like to see that people who did it are held responsible,” Jaishankar said.
Asked about two cases — one against a former Indian official and another against an Indian business tycoon — which have come up in US courts in the last two years, Jaishankar said, “No, the subject didn’t come up (during the meetings).”
(With agency inputs)