India doesn’t want anything to happen to their citizens using student and H1B visa programs in the US and have already agreed to take back tens of thousands of Indian illegals from here in the US to keep Trump happy and to protect their use of these visa programs.
Here’s more from Bloomberg:
India’s government is prepared to work with Donald Trump’s administration to identify and take back all its citizens residing illegally in the US, an early signal from New Delhi that it’s willing to comply with the incoming American president and avoid a trade war.
The US has identified some 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants to be sent back home, for which India will verify and start the process of deportation, according to people familiar with the matter. The figure could be much higher than that, though, given that it’s unclear how many undocumented Indian migrants live in the US, the people added, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Like several other nations, India is working behind the scenes to appease the Trump administration and avoid the brunt of its trade threats….
In return for its cooperation, India hopes that the Trump administration would protect legal immigration channels used by its citizens to enter the US such as student visas and the H-1B program for skilled workers. Indian citizens accounted for almost three-fourths of the 386,000 H-1B visas granted in 2023, according to official data.
Any slack in taking back undocumented US migrants could also adversely affect India’s labor and mobility agreements with other countries, the people said. With a jobs shortage back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has signed migration agreements with an array of countries in recent years, including Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Israel and others.
Marina Medvin calls this a brilliant move by Trump:
I honestly don’t know that he actually made visas contingent on counties taking back their illegals, but I do believe it is something he would do if India refused to take them. I think they know Trump is dead serious about these mass deportations and his reputation is what’s making them comply.
It’s great to have a true leader in the White House again.