Vivek Ramaswamy, a former GOP presidential candidate of Indian descent, addressed the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. During his speech, he vowed that illegal immigrants would be "returned" to their countries of origin. Ramaswamy, who withdrew from the presidential race earlier this year, stated, "Our message to illegal immigrants is that we will send you back to your home country. This is not about judging your character, but about upholding the rule of law, which is the foundation of the United States."

The former Trump rival, who later became a supporter of the former president, also stated that immigrants residing illegally in the U.S. should be deported to their home countries. He suggested that such deportations would help "make America great again," echoing Donald Trump's well-known slogan.

Ramaswamy addressed legal immigrants by saying, "You are like my parents," referring to his Indian-origin parents who moved from Palakkad, Kerala, to Ohio in the early 1980s.

"You deserve the opportunity to secure a better life for your children in America. But our message to illegal immigrants is also this: We will return you to your country of origin, not because you're all bad people, but because you broke the law, and the United States of America was founded on the rule of law," he said.

The latest government estimate shows that nearly 11 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U.S. as of January 1, 2022. This figure represents an increase of 500,000 from two years prior but is lower than the 11.6 million reported in 2010. It is uncertain how many additional noncitizens have entered the U.S., changed their legal status, or left voluntarily since that estimate.

During his campaign in Iowa last September, former President Donald Trump also assured voters that, if re-elected, he would implement "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history," following the Eisenhower model. Trump, who had made a similar commitment during his first presidential campaign, has recently reiterated this promise at rallies nationwide.