India Authorizes Officials to Expel “Illegal Migrants” as Pressure Mounts over Bangali-speaking Muslims

India Authorizes Officials to Expel “Illegal Migrants” as Pressure Mounts over Bangali-speaking Muslims
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According to a report by Maktoob Media, the Assam Cabinet in India has approved a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that grants police and district officials the authority to expel individuals classified as “illegal migrants.” This new policy is based on the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950 (IEAA), which, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will allow the state to bypass the existing Foreigners Tribunals.

Under the new process, District Commissioners can issue a notice to “suspected foreigners,” giving them 10 days to provide documents to prove their citizenship. If the documents are deemed unsatisfactory, an “evacuation order” will be passed. The individual will then be taken to a holding center and subsequently pushed back to either Bangladesh or Pakistan by the Border Security Force (BSF). The Chief Minister stated that the state has already “pushed back” over 30,000 undocumented immigrants to date.

These operations have drawn criticism from rights groups and opposition leaders who allege that they are being carried out with a communal bias, disproportionately targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims under the guise of deporting undocumented immigrants.