India has registered its ”concern” with the United States over the manner in which 104 Illegal Indian immigrants were transported to Amritsar in a military aircraft, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday.
Asked at a media briefing if India has registered its protest with Washington, he said, ”we have made our concerns known.”
On how many more illegal immigrants are expected to come back from the US, Mr Misri said, ”in recent conversations when we sought details about potential returnees from the US, we have been told that there are up to 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders. We have sought details and they have been provided to us with regard to 298 individuals.”
On the use of a military plane for deporting illegal immigrants who were chained during their long journey, the top diplomat said, “the deportation that happened the day before yesterday is somewhat different compared to flights that have been taking place for many years and is of a slightly different nature.”
The US side, he said, categorised it as ”National Security Operation.”
Asked if there were protests after the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US in the past since 2012, Mr Misri said, “I don’t think there was any protest. We don’t have any record of any protest having been made about it.”
He said India is in touch with the American officials to impress on them the need to ensure that the people, including those who have been deported, should be properly behaved with.