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

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that India will "make the right choice" regarding the repatriation of illegal immigrants, following a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was the first call between the two leaders since Trump took office last week.

According to the White House, the call was "productive," and the two discussed issues including immigration, security, and trade. Trump revealed to reporters after the call that Modi might visit the U.S. "sometime in February."

Since taking office on January 20th, Trump has announced a series of executive orders related to immigration, paving the way for a large-scale crackdown on undocumented immigrants within the U.S. According to the Pew Research Center, there were approximately 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the U.S. as of 2024.

Last week, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated that Delhi would accept Indian citizens who have overstayed their visas "anywhere in the world," provided that documents are shared and nationality is verified. During Monday’s call, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Trump and Modi discussed bilateral relations, including technology, trade, investment, energy, and defense.

The two leaders also discussed security issues in the Indo-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Europe. According to a White House statement, Trump emphasized the importance of India increasing its purchases of U.S.-made security equipment and moving towards a "fair" bilateral trade relationship.

Modi posted on X (formerly Twitter), calling Trump a "dear friend" and stating that they are "committed to building a mutually beneficial and trusted partnership." The White House said both leaders emphasized their commitment to advancing the strategic partnership between the two countries and the Quad partnership in the Indo-Pacific (including Japan and Australia). India is set to host the first Quad leaders' summit later this year.

Modi and Trump maintained a friendly relationship during Trump's first presidential term from 2017 to 2021. However, a fierce tariff war erupted between India and the Trump administration, impacting business activities between the two countries. Last November, after Trump won the election, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar stated that India was not worried about working with the U.S. president.

Trump had previously called Modi a "great leader" last year, but also accused India of charging excessively high tariffs. Analysts believe it will be worth observing whether the rapport between the two leaders can help overcome concerns about trade and immigration.