The Centre is weighing a new law to regulate migration for overseas jobs, aiming to ensure safer and more organized movement of workers, according to reports. The proposed Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2024 — intended to replace the four-decade-old Emigration Act of 1983 — was detailed in a parliamentary report presented on February 3.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of illegal migration, with the US recently deporting nearly 100 Indian nationals, including women and children, on a military aircraft.
The report presented in Lok Sabha by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, which was chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, stressed the urgency of modernising India’s migration laws. It noted that despite repeated calls for reform, progress had been slow. However, the External Affairs Ministry is now “seriously considering” new legislation to address evolving global migration challenges.
The urgency of this overhaul coincides with the US deporting around 100 illegal Indian immigrants on February 5. The deportees, detained in a large-scale crackdown, included 33 individuals from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, three from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and two from Chandigarh. Among them were 19 women and 13 minors, including a four-year-old boy and two girls aged five and seven.
Addressing the issue in Parliament on February 6, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reaffirmed the government’s commitment to monitoring and assisting Indian nationals abroad.
“The government closely monitors the number of students abroad and ensures their well-being during times of tension. We provide alerts to students, as we did in Ukraine. Whenever there is a need for evacuation flights, we are ready with contingency plans,” he said.
On India’s engagement with the US regarding deportations, Jaishankar acknowledged concerns over mistreatment and stated that efforts were ongoing to protect Indian nationals.
“Illegal mobility and migration is of an illegal nature. Most of our citizens themselves become prey to it. They are trapped into both moving and working under inhuman conditions. Members are aware there have been fatalities in the cost of migration. Those who have returned testified of harrowing experiences. It’s the obligation of every country to take back their citizens. The process of deportation is not a new one and has been going on for years,” he added.
In response to Congress MP Fauzia Khan’s query on the government’s handling of deported students, Jaishankar cited the case of students deported from Israel during the Hamas attack.
“Yes, we take a number of measures, we allow students to be transferred to other countries…we have been empathetic. About 900 students were deported from Israel during the Hamas attack,” he said.