A US military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on Wednesday, airport officials said.

This is the first batch of deportations to India after US President Donald Trump railed against migration during his campaign and pledged to deport millions of what he called "illegal immigrants."

India sees no problem with deportations

The majority of those who were deported on Tuesday originated from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat in northern and western India, according to official sources cited by India Today news channel.

The move comes despite close ties between the US and India, and especially between Trump and his counterpart Narendra Modi.

But New Delhi has said it has no objection to the US deporting its citizens, saying that it sees a connection between undocumented migration and organized crime.

Indian Foreign Ministry officials have also said the country is open to returning verified Indian nationals living illegally in any country, including the US.

Modi, Trump to meet in Washington

The deportation came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Modi's expected visit to Washington next week.

In a recent phone call, Modi discussed immigration with Trump, among other issues, and it is likely to come up again in their scheduled talks next week.

During the call, Trump also stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trade.

The Pew Research Center estimates that about 725,000 Indian nationals lived illegally in the US in 2022. More are expected to be deported.

Modi and Trump have a warm relationship, and once held a massive rally in Texas in 2019 called "Howdy, Modi!"

The pair are also seen as figureheads of nationalism on the global stage.

Edited: Wesley Dockery, Louis Oelofse