Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday (Feb 13) that those staying in other countries illegally "do not have any legal right to be there," as he addressed the media at a joint press conference alongside US President Donald Trump.

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Just days after visuals of Indian citizens in shackles being deported from the US caused uproar in India, Modi, during his visit to the US, said his country was ready to take back its citizens living in America illegally. 

While condemning illegal immigration, Modi said that it is actually a symptom of a bigger disease.

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'Misled' and lost

The Indian Prime Minister stressed that "those who stay in other countries illegally do not have any legal right to be there."

He added, "As far as India and the US are concerned, we have always said that those who are verified and are truly the citizens of India - if they live in the US illegally, India is ready to take them back."

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However, he remarked that "it doesn't stop just there for us". The Indian PM said that many of the illegal Indian immigrants in the US are people belonging to poor families led astray by false promises and "big dreams".

"These are people from ordinary families. They are shown big dreams and most of them are such who are misled and brought here." 

He said that the need of the hour is to "attack this entire system of human trafficking."

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"Together, it should be the effort of the US and India to destroy such an ecosystem from its roots so that human trafficking ends...Our bigger fight is against that entire ecosystem and we are confident that President Trump will fully cooperate with India in finishing this ecosystem," he stated.

(With inputs from agencies)