India takes back first deportees from U.S. to avoid Trump tariffs

A plane carrying Indian citizens deported from the U.S. landed in northwest India on February 5, marking the start of an agreement to return an estimated 720,000 illegal Indian immigrants and stop the tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump.  

The flight to Amritsar airport followed a January 27 call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump, who demanded India accept Indians living illegally in America. 

Modi’s cooperation aims to protect legal migration programs and avoid trade penalties.  

“This is about creating avenues for legal migration,” said Randhir Jaiswal, India’s foreign ministry spokesman.  

Trump hailed the deal as a win, while Modi seeks to maintain ties ahead of a February visit to Washington.

India also fears threats to H-1B visas for skilled workers in tech and retaliatory tariffs if it resists taking its own citizens back.  

Pew Research data showed that 90,000 Indians were caught entering the U.S. illegally in 2023, often through Mexico or Canada. 

Deporting all 720,000 could require 5,000 flights, with the total cost unknown.    

Many deportees hail from Punjab and Gujarat, where youth often pay agents up to $100,000 USD to smugglers to get into the U.S.