The US President says India ‘will do what’s right’ in illegal immigration

US President Donald Trump has said that India “will do what’s right”, about the expulsion of illegal migrants after 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 journalists after the invitation that Modi would probably visit the United States “sometime in February”.

Since joining on January 20, Trump has announced a number of immigration -related executive orders and paved the way for widespread efforts to crack down on undocumented migrants in the United States.

According to the Pew Research Center, there are an estimated 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the United States from 2024.

Last week, India’s Foreign Ministry said Delhi would take Indians who exceeded “anywhere in the world” as long as their documents were shared and nationality was verified.

In their phone calls on Monday, the ministry said, Trump and Modi discussed the bilateral relationship, “including in technology, trade, investment, energy and defense.”

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

According to a statement in the White House, Trump emphasized the importance of India increasing its purchase of US-made security equipment and moving towards a “fair” bilateral trade relationship.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Modi Trump called a “Dear Friend” and said they were “committed to a mutually advantageous and trusted partnership”.

The White House said both leaders emphasized their obligation to promote their countries’ strategic partnership and Indo-Pacific Quad Partnership, which also includes Japan and Australia.

India hosts Quad leaders for the first time later in the year.

Modi and Trump shared cordial relations in the first period of the US president between 2017 and 2021.

But India was facing a bitter customs war with the Trump administration that affected businesses on both sides.

In November after Trump’s electoral victory, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaisankar 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 customs.

Analysts say it will be interesting to see if the bonhomy between the two will help overcome the concerns of trade and immigration.