Modi ‘will do what's right’ when it comes to taking back Indians living illegally in US: Trump

US President Donald Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, the White House said.

Trump later himself told reporters they also spoke about the issue of immigration and that Modi would visit the US sometime in February.

The White House said earlier that plans for a Modi visit were discussed by the two leaders.

'Do what's right'

Trump told reporters on Monday Modi "will do what's right" when it comes to taking back Indian immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally.

In a meeting with India's foreign minister last week, Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized a desire to "address concerns related to irregular migration." Trump has pledged to crack down on illegal immigration and Bloomberg News reported last week that India and the U.S. have identified some 18,000 Indian migrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

Trump has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers and India is known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world. They account for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the United States.

The US readouts this week and last made no mention of Washington's accusations of Indian involvement in a foiled murder plot on US soil against a Sikh separatist that were an awkward factor in relations in the latter part of the administration of former President Joe Biden.

In what the White House called a "productive call," the leaders discussed expanding and deepening cooperation and issues including security in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.

Trump and Modi enjoyed warm relations in the US president's first term, but during his campaign for re-election Trump called India a "very big abuser" on trade and vowed to use tariffs on global imports into the U.S. to correct imbalances.

Trump has also threatened the BRICS group of nations, of which India is a part, with tariffs if they did not accept his demand of committing to not create a new currency.

In Monday's call, Trump "emphasized the importance of India increasing its procurement of American-made security equipment and moving toward a fair bilateral trading relationship," a White House statement said.

The U.S. is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a surplus of $32 billion.

With inputs from Reuters