Expulsion of Illegal Immigrants by Assam Government

Context

Recently, the Assam Cabinet has approved a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for implementation of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950.

Salient features of the recent SOP

• Identification: Clear mechanism for identification of illegal immigrants.
• Coordination: Defined roles of state police, border organisations and district administration.
  • It will provide guidance to District Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police for expelling illegal immigrants from Assam.
• Expulsion process: Prescribed steps for documentation, verification and deportation.
• Legal monitoring: Ensured compliance with judicial guidelines and human rights norms.

Special Role of District Commissioner

• If the District Commissioner receives information from the police or any other source that a person is suspected to be an illegal migrant,
  • he shall direct the person to produce proof of his citizenship within 10 days.
• If the District Commissioner finds that the evidence produced by the suspected illegal migrant is not sufficient/satisfactory to prove his Indian citizenship,
  • he shall record his opinion in writing identifying the person as an illegal migrant.
• The District Commissioner shall pass a removal order under Section 2(a) of the 1950 Act.
  • Directing that the illegal immigrant be removed from Assam through a specified route within 24 hours.
• In case of declared foreigners identified by Foreigners' Tribunals, the District Commissioner shall pass a removal order.
  • As no identification process is necessary in their case after exhausting the remedies available through the High Court and Supreme Court.
• Once such a person is identified as an illegal immigrant, the District Commissioner will refer the illegal migrant to the concerned Senior Superintendent of Police for registering his biometrics and demographic details on the Foreigners Identification Portal.
• If an illegal migrant does not remove himself despite the expulsion order, as per Section 4 of the 1950 Act, the District Commissioner with the assistance of the concerned Senior Superintendent of Police will either keep such illegal migrant in a holding centre or hand him over to the nearest Border Security Force for expulsion.
• If an illegal migrant is found near the zero line or within 12 hours of entry into the state, he will be deported immediately without any further processing.

Significance

• First formal Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) since the enactment of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950.
• It has been issued amid infiltration concerns from Bangladesh.
• It is linked to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and border management policies.

Related issues

• Humanitarian challenges posed in deportation.
• Potential diplomatic sensitivities with Bangladesh.
• Risk of arbitrary implementation without safeguards.

The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950

• It empowers the central government to expel immigrants from Assam if their stay threatens the economic, social or cultural life of the state.
• It was passed in the backdrop of large-scale migration from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
• Unlike the Foreigners Act, 1946, it applies only to Assam.