The Indian government told the Parliament on Friday that a total of 3,155 of its nationals had been deported from the US as of 21 November 2025.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a written response to a query, also said all deportations are subject to an "unambiguous verification" of their Indian nationality.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was asked whether it is a fact that several Indians who entered through "donkey route", were recently deported from the US, and if so, the number of people shunted out by the US government to India during the last three years.

The phrase "donkey route" refers to the route used for illegal immigration, largely in context of North America.

"The US government usually deports individuals who are found to have (i) illegally entered the US, (ii) have overstayed their visa validity, (iii) have been found living in the US without any documentation, or (iv) have criminal conviction against them. The Government of India works in close coordination with the US government on these deportation operations," Singh said.

In his response, he also shared the number of Indian nationals deported from the US to India in the last three years.

In 2025, as of 21 November, the number of Indian nationals deported from US stood at 3,155, as per the data shared in a tabulated form.

For 2024, the corresponding figure stood at 1,368 and in 2023, the number stood at 617.

"Data relating to registration of cases of trafficking to other countries, including through 'donkey route', is not maintained by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Most of the foreign countries do not share details of Indian deportees," the MoS said in response to a separate query.

The MEA, in another query, was asked the number of Indian workers imprisoned and languishing in jails in Kuwait and other countries.

"There are a total of 316 Indian prisoners in jails in Kuwait (as on 31.10.2025) as per the data shared by Kuwaiti authorities," Singh said.