US President Donald Trump's massive crackdown on illegal immigrants has become a raging issue worldwide. Recently, 104 Indian immigrants were handcuffed, chained and deported to India. 30 are from Punjab, 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, three each from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh.

One of the deportees is 18-year-old Robin Handa from Haryana. "My father put together his savings of over ?15 lakh from selling land and loaned ?30 lakh to pay an agent who promised to send me to the US via the UK, only for me to be chained like an animal and brought back to the country," Robin said. He added that he had made the "expensive" journey all the way to the US only after he realised that there were no jobs for him in his hometown or any prospect of making a decent living. Another deportee, Harwinder Singh from Punjab's Hoshiarpur, said that he only paid his agent ?42 lakh after the latter promised him a work visa in the US. He was arrested at the US-Mexico border.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asserted that how Indians staying illegally in the US were deported was "an insult to India and the dignity of Indians." Amidst Opposition uproar in the parliament against such criminal-like treatment of the deportees, the External Affairs Minister termed the use of "restraints" (read: handcuffs and chains) a "standard operating procedure!" He stated that 15,756 illegal Indian immigrants have been deported to India from the US since 2009.

According to the latest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) figures, there are 24,974 Indian nationals currently detained on criminal charges and immigration law violations for eventual deportation, while an estimated 7,25,000 Indians are undocumented in the US. PBS News reported that about 13.7 million people were undocumented, and 9.7 million people did not have legal protection/status to be in the US.

There are two common principles for granting citizenship: Jus Soli and Jus Sanguinis.

Jus Soli

Jus Soli is a Latin term meaning "right of soil" and citizenship by birth. If one's parents move as immigrants to a particular country that abides by Jus Soli law and their child is born in that country, she/he will automatically gain citizenship rights by birth, regardless of the citizenship of the parents.

Jus Soli allows for generations of immigrant families to eventually become citizens. As the naturalisation process is typically long and expensive, most immigrants opt for Jus Soli, which gives them an easier opportunity to obtain citizenship.

Jus Sanguinis

Jus Sanguinis in Latin means "Right of Blood." This law states that citizenship is earned based on parents' citizenship irrespective of the country where their child is born. Many EU countries use this law to determine citizenship.

Under this law, it doesn't matter where a person is born. As long as their bloodline is from a country that follows Jus Sanguinis, they will be granted citizenship. This law is used to grant citizenship because it assumes that the core national values and loyalty will be acquired through socialisation from one's bloodline. Indian citizenship law follows the principle of 'Jus Sanguinis' when granting citizenship.

Issues with Jus Soli

Almost all countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania grant citizenship based on Jus Sanguinis. The main reason for this is that Jus Soli causes concern for illegal immigration because many families, with a view to obtaining a second citizenship, use it to circumvent the immigration systems in a country.

Canada and the US are the only developed nations in the world that follow Jus Soli. Now, on assuming office as the US president for a second term, Donald Trump has said he would end citizenship by birth as it was exacerbating the immigration issue. But for this, he must get the Constitution amended. This won't be a cakewalk. Already, three federal courts in the US have refused to toe his line. Trump himself is born of immigrant parents—his father is German, and his mother Scottish!

The UK, too, has begun a crackdown against illegal immigrants and has extended it to Indian restaurants, nail bars, convenience stores and car washes which employ such individuals. The Home Office described the action as a UK-wide blitz on illegal working in the country.

India is the world's fifth-largest economy and is poised to be third by 2030. Then why do so many Indians eye immigration to the US and other European Union countries, even illegally, by paying huge sums of money to agents? The answer lies in the yawning gaps between India's GDP-PPP per capita income and the world's top countries. The rank and figures for 2024 are: 1 - Luxembourg ($151,146), 2 - Singapore ($148,186), 6 - Norway ($103,446), 7 - Switzerland ($95,837), 10 - USA ($86,601), 28 - UK (62,574). India only ranks 125th with $11,112.