Trump says India 'will do what's right' on illegal immigration

Washington, January 28 — US President Donald Trump has said India "will do what's right" on the deportation of illegal migrants following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The leaders spoke on Monday, their first conversation since Trump's inauguration last week.

They discussed immigration, security issues and trade in what the White House described as a "productive call".

Trump told reporters after the call that Modi was likely to visit the United States "sometime in February".

Since taking office on 20 January, Trump has announced a number of immigration-related executive orders, paving the way for a widespread effort to crack down on undocumented migrants in the US.

According to the Pew Research Center, there are an estimated 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the US as of 2024.

Last week, India's foreign ministry said Delhi would take in Indians overstaying "anywhere in the world" as long as their documents were shared and nationality was verified.

In their phone call on Monday, the ministry said, Trump and Modi discussed the bilateral relationship, "including in the areas of technology, trade, investment, energy and defence".

The two leaders also discussed security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.

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 (formerly Twitter), 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 this year.

Modi and Trump shared cordial relations during the US president's first term between 2017 and 2021.

But India faced a bitter tariff war with the Trump administration that affected businesses on both sides.

In November, following Trump's election victory, 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" last year but also accused India of charging excessive tariffs.

Analysts say it will be interesting to watch if the bonhomie between the two will help overcome concerns about trade and immigration.