Aug 17, 2026 13:02 pm IST

Opinion | 4,800 Indians Removed, 51,000 ICE Arrests: What's Happening In Trump's America?

According to Stop AAPI Hate, Indians are now one of the most targeted groups by ICE, with the highest number of arrests, detentions, and deportations out of all Asian and Pacific Islanders.

Naresh Kaushik Naresh Kaushik Columnist

Naresh Kaushik Columnist

Last week, Venkata Vasamsetty, a long-term US green card holder, was arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), three months after a judge dismissed efforts to remove her from the country. Vasamsetty, who's been a lawful permanent resident in the US since 2013, hasn't committed any crime, as is the case with most victims of ICE. The agency wants to remove her because she stayed in India for a few months in 2022 to visit her ailing father, and later contracted Covid. ICE accuses her of abandoning her permanent residency, a charge she denies. Two weeks earlier, the agency arrested another US resident, Pritesh Walia, a jazz musician. He has now been released on bond. Vasamsetty is also hoping to be freed on bond. But this is not the end of their troubles. The threat of deportation remains.

Vasamsetty and Walia are among the growing number of Indians affected by ICE's operations, part of US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The US has deported more than 4,800 Indian nationals since Trump took office. As many as 1,273 have been deported already in the first half of this year, and 3,567 were sent back last year, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Last year's figures were the highest in 16 years, but this year's total could be even more. Nationally, ICE arrested 51,000 people in July, a new monthly record. Trump has set a record of 2,000 arrests a day. According to Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of US Homeland Security, ICE made an average of 4,200 arrests in the first week of August. So, many more Indians could be arrested and deported in the rest of this year.

Indians Are The Most Targeted Group

Although the largest number of arrests and deportations by the US involve nationals of Latin American and Caribbean countries, Indians now top such lists among Asians, according to Stop AAPI Hate, an American NGO that tracks and analyses data on Asian and Pacific Island nations and campaigns against ICE. Between January 2025 and March 2026, almost 28% of the 14,402 Asians arrested were Indians. During the same period, 6,218 Asians were deported; Indians again occupied the top spot, with a 28% share of removals. Stop AAPI Hate told this author that in their analysis of the latest data, which they have not yet released, they found that "Indian people remain the most targeted by ICE, with the highest number of arrests, detentions, and........

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