the country would take in Indians overstaying "anywhere in the world"
Donald Trump has said India “will do what’s right” when it comes to illegal immigration following a phone call with Narendra Modi.
The leaders discussed immigration, security issues and trade in what the White House described as a “productive call”.
Trump later revealed that Modi was likely to visit the United States “sometime in February”.
Since taking office on January 20, 2025, Trump has announced several immigration-related executive orders, paving the way for a widespread effort to crack down on undocumented migrants in the US.
As of 2024, there are an estimated 725,000 Indian immigrants living illegally in the US, making them the third largest group after those from Mexico and El Salvador.
It comes after it was reported that India was planning to repatriate 18,000 undocumented Indians in the US.
Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, previously said:
“As part of India-US cooperation on migration and mobility, both sides are engaged in a process to deter illegal migration.
“This is being done to create more avenues for legal migration from India to the US.”
India’s foreign ministry said the country would take in Indians overstaying “anywhere in the world” as long as their documents were shared and nationality was verified.
In their phone call, Trump and Modi discussed the bilateral relationship, “including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence”.
This included the US President pushing Modi to buy more American-made weapons.
According to a White House statement, Trump emphasised the importance of India increasing its procurement of US-made security equipment and moving towards a “fair” bilateral trading relationship.
In a post on X, Modi called Trump a “dear friend” and said they were “committed to a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership”.
The White House said both leaders emphasised their commitment to advancing their countries’ strategic partnership and the Indo-Pacific Quad partnership, which also includes Japan and Australia.
India will be hosting Quad leaders for the first time later in 2025.
The two leaders shared cordial relations during Trump’s first presidential term between 2017 and 2021.
However, India faced a tariff war with the Trump administration that impacted businesses on both sides.
After Trump’s election victory in November 2024, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said the country was not nervous about working with the US president.
Trump had called Modi a “great leader” in 2024 but also accused India of charging excessive tariffs.
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