India mulls new law to mandate safety of migrants amid deportation row
PTC News Desk: Amid return of illegal Indian immigrants from the United States, the Centre is considering to enact a law to ensure safety of migrants overseas. The new law provisionally titled the Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2024 aims to outline a framework that promote "safe, orderly and regular migration' for overseas employment."
The move comes amid a row over the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the United States who landed in Amritsar on Wednesday on a C-17 US military aircraft.
The tentatively titled 'Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2024' emerged from a report presented in Lok Sabha by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on Monday.
"The government carefully monitors the number of students in all foreign countries, and carefully monitors their welfare in situations of tension. We alert students, as we have done in Ukraine. Whenever there is a situation when we need to run flights, we are prepared. We have contingency plans," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The aircraft departed from the US on February 4 at 3 am IST, marking the first time America has used a military plane to deport illegal immigrants. The move comes in line with former US President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies, which aimed to remove undocumented foreign nationals.
Among those returning, 33 are from Haryana, 30 from Punjab, and 2 from Chandigarh. Several families, including children aged 8 to 10 years, are also among the deportees. Officials at the airport have confirmed that none of the deported individuals have criminal records.
- PTC NEWS
