The MEA also informed that the Protector of Emigrants works closely with Indian embassies and consulates to support Indian immigrants in various ways, ensuring their welfare, addressing grievances, and handling issues related to overseas employment.
As the US under the Trump 2.0 administration has started deporting illegal Indian immigrants, the Indian government is considering introducing a new law called the Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2024. This law aims to create a structured system that ensures safe, organized, and legal migration for Indians seeking jobs abroad. A report presented in the Lok Sabha by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, provided updates on the proposed legislation, as per The Indian Express.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the new bill is meant to replace the outdated Emigration Act of 1983, making overseas job migration smoother and safer. The draft is currently under review by various ministries. After internal discussions, it will be open for public feedback for 15 to 30 days, followed by consultations among ministries before final approval.
“It aims to establish an enabling framework which will promote safe, orderly and regular migration for overseas employment. The proposed draft is under consultation with line Ministries. After the internal consultations draft will be put up for public Consultation for 15/30 days thereafter it will be followed up by Inter Ministerial Consultations along with the Draft Cabinet Note on revised draft,” the report quotes the MEA as submitting.
The MEA also informed that the Protector of Emigrants works closely with Indian embassies and consulates to support Indian immigrants in various ways, ensuring their welfare, addressing grievances, and handling issues related to overseas employment.
The migrants, 104 in total and hailing from various states, were rounded up in a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration in the US. Among them, 33 were from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. Nineteen women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two girls aged five and seven, were also on the flight.
“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 in Parliament today.
According to a 2022 report by the Pew Research Center, India ranked third, after Mexico and El Salvador, in terms of the largest number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., with 725,000 individuals.
In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of Indians attempting to enter the U.S. via the U.S.-Canada border. In the year ending September 30, U.S. Border Patrol made over 14,000 arrests of Indian nationals at the Canadian border, which accounted for 60% of all arrests along that border, and was more than ten times higher than the number two years prior.
