Guwahati: The Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has announced a significant shift in its approach to handling illegal immigrants. According to Sarma, the state will no longer solely rely on Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) to identify and deport undocumented migrants. Instead, it will invoke the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Order of 1950, a previously overlooked law that empowers district commissioners to issue immediate expulsion orders.
This decision follows recent observations by the Supreme Court, which stated that Assam does not always need to go through the judiciary to identify and deport foreigners. The court upheld the validity of the 1950 order, allowing district authorities to act directly in such cases. Sarma mentioned that the state government was previously unaware of this law, but with the Supreme Court’s observations, they are now prepared to act on it.
Under the new approach, when someone is identified as a foreigner and their case is not already in court, the state will not wait for judicial intervention. Instead, they will push them back immediately. However, ongoing legal proceedings will remain unaffected. Sarma emphasized that the government is preparing to implement this approach effectively while ensuring it aligns with legal standards.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise had slowed down efforts in identifying and deporting undocumented migrants. With this new development, the government aims to resume and intensify its crackdown on illegal immigrants. Currently, Assam operates 100 Foreigners Tribunals, established in 2005, to determine citizenship status. These tribunals will not be involved in cases where the new approach is applied.
– Empowerment of District Commissioners: The law empowers district commissioners to issue immediate expulsion orders.
– Applicability: The law applies to individuals whose stay in Assam is detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or any Scheduled Tribe in Assam.
– Origins: The law was enacted to deal with large-scale immigration of migrants from East Bengal to Assam.
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