India, Feb. 6 -- The US deported nearly 15,700 Indians since 2009, including 104 citizens sent back on a military flight this week, and India's focus should be on a "strong crackdown" on the illegal migration industry and steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.

Making a statement in Rajya Sabha in the wake of the latest deportation flight following US President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, Jaishankar addressed concerns about the deportees being sent back in handcuffs and shackles by saying that the use of restraints has been part of the standard operating procedures of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities since 2012.

"We are, of c...