The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has revealed that 3,065 Sri Lankans are among the over 1.4 million illegal immigrants slated for deportation under the new Trump administration.
The deportation list includes individuals from various countries who are residing in the U.S. illegally.
Additionally, ICE has compiled a list of countries that oppose the deportation process, but Sri Lanka is not among them.
According to a document released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), as of November 24, 2024, there are 1,445,549 noncitizens on ICE’s non-detained docket with final orders of removal while this includes 3,065 Sri Lankans.
The U.S. Government requests foreign governments take appropriate steps to confirm the citizenship of noncitizens suspected to be their nationals, which include conducting interviews, issuing travel documents in a timely manner, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights consistent with ICE and/or foreign government removal guidelines.
Lack of cooperation from countries in accepting the return of their nationals may lead to ICE classifying those countries as uncooperative or at-risk of non-compliance, it said.
Currently, ICE considers 15 countries to be uncooperative: Bhutan, Burma, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Laos, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Russia, Somalia, and Venezuela. ICE considers 11 countries to be at risk of non-compliance: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Gabon, Gambia, Iraq, Jamaica, Nicaragua, South Sudan, St. Lucia, and Vietnam.
