What will Trump do to illegal Indians?

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repatriated over 1,100 Indian nationals in the previous fiscal year.
• The repatriation is part of a larger effort to deter irregular migration to the U.S. from India.
• The flight was part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department’s regular removals.
• The flight aimed to highlight the strong will of the Joseph Biden administration to enforce immigration laws and deliver “tough consequences” for those who enter unlawfully.
• Indians who try to enter the U.S. unlawfully usually use the southern U.S. border with Mexico and the Canada-U.S. border.
• The Mexico-U.S. border is particularly affected as Latin American or central American countries like Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala provide visa-free entry to U.S.-visa holding Indians for a period of time.
• India has agreements with these countries that allow for extended stays for Indian citizens. Peru is among those that waives visa requirement for Indian nationals for business and tourism purposes for one or more stays totalling up to 180 days per year.
• The latest flight carrying the Indian nationals landed in Punjab, with most of the people on board hailed from Punjab.
• The number of Indians trying to enter the U.S. has witnessed a five-fold rise since 2019.
• The Trump presidency has not targeted Indians, but his anti-immigration measures are likely to hit Indian immigrants too.
• The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant stance will clash with the economic policy of his tech czars who want to access the Indian market.