India open to legitimate return of undocumented Indians, Jaishankar says

India has been open to the “legitimate return” of undocumented Indian immigrants to their home country, the Press Trust of India reported external affairs minister S. Jaishankar as saying on Wednesday.

Jaishankar was responding to a question by a media representative on the Indian government’s stance on undocumented Indians residing in the US.

The country firmly opposes illegal migration, Jaishankar said, adding that “one illegal activity attracts other unlawful activities,” and that such occurrences are not good for the country’s reputation.

“Legally, if we are sure that they (undocumented Indians) are our citizens, we have always been open to their legitimate return to India,” Jaishankar said, adding that this stance is not US-specific.

Jaishankar said he had informed his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, about the Indian government’s position on the issue.

While speaking about the exact number of undocumented Indians staying in the US, he said the number is “operative.”

“Considering the sensitivities involved when we can actually validate that the concerned individual is indeed of Indian origin and confirm their basis of stay or not being able to stay (in the US), the country will initiate the process for their legitimate return,” he said.

He added that India, in principle, only supports legal mobility, as the government believes that Indian talent and skills should be given maximum opportunity at the global level.

While drawing attention to overarching delays in granting US visas to Indian professionals, he said, “Indian visa applicants have to wait for 400 odd days for a US visa.”

He said he had raised the issue with Rubio and requested that he create a legal and mutually beneficial framework to ensure ease of mobility for Indians to the US.

The unauthorized immigrant population in the US grew to 11 million in 2022, according to Pew Research Center estimates based on the 2022 American Community Survey, the most recent year available.

The increase from 10.5 million in 2021 reversed a long-term downward trend from 2007 to 2019. This is the first sustained increase in the unauthorized immigrant population since the period from 2005 to 2007.

The number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico dropped to 4.0 million in 2022 from a peak of 6.9 million in 2007, the study pointed out.

After Mexico, the countries with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in the US in 2022 were El Salvador with 750,000, India with 725,000, Guatemala with 675,000, and Honduras with 525,000.