India Reports Over 2,200 Deportations From United States in 2026

The Ministry of External Affairs of India confirmed that 2,273 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States since January 1, 2026. This follows a surge in deportations over previous years, rising from 617 in 2023 to 3,567 in 2025. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar previously informed the Rajya Sabha that 414 of these deportations occurred in the first quarter of 2026 alone. During that same period, 588 Indians were deported from the U.S. and European countries, with the United Kingdom and Cyprus recording 57 and 53 cases respectively.

To combat the fraudulent recruitment networks driving illegal migration, the ministry notified 3,505 unregistered agents on the eMigrate portal as of October 2025. Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh noted that the Indian Community Welfare Fund provides means-tested legal aid to distressed nationals detained abroad. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India conducts due diligence to verify nationality before facilitating the return of deportees.

Simultaneously, the administration of Donald Trump is defending a $100,000 H-1B visa fee. Although a federal judge struck down the fee as an unlawful tax, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers affirmed the president's authority to restrict entry in the national interest and announced that the administration will appeal the ruling.