THE NEW AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

Though some Indians are at immediate risk from the new Trump administration’s plan to expedite deportation of illegal immigrants, other such entrants are protected, for now, by a lengthy judicial process and a well-oiled support system

- By JUMANA SHAH

Even as H-1B beneficiaries and aspirants anxiously await clarity on their status after Donald Trump takes oath as president of the United States on January 20, the threat to an estimated 725,000 illegal immigrants from India looms ever closer. Trump has vowed that he will carry out a mass deportation of all illegal immigrants on Day 1 of his presidency, the like of which America has never seen before. There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, of which those from Mexico alone form close to 50 per cent, followed by El Salvador and India with seven per cent each. In his first term between 2017 and 2021, Trump ensured the annual average deportation of 200,000 illegal immigrants.

Even the Biden administration averaged a matching 200,000 in his final two years. In his second term, Trump policy-makers intend to step it up to one million in the first year alone and even higher figures later.

Indians are likely to form a substantial number of them.

US Homeland Security data show that 90,415 Indians were caught between October 2023 and September 2024 trying to enter the US without proper documents.