In a 'bold' procedural overhaul to fast-track the removal of illegal immigrants, Assam cabinet on Tuesday approved an SOP for DCs and senior superintendents of police to identify and expel illegal immigrants within ten days, bypassing the protracted legal route through Foreigners' Tribunals.
The Himanta Biswa Sarma government approved the framing of a standard operating procedure (SOP) under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, for “protecting” the State from illegal immigrants.
The SOP would guide the District Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police to expel illegal migrants from Assam, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after the meeting.
In case of declared foreign nationals identified by the Foreigners’ Tribunals, he said the DC will pass an expulsion order, as no identification process is necessary in their case after already exhausting remedies available by approaching the High Court and the Supreme Court, he said.
The proposed SOP also has a provision for declared foreign nationals who might not prefer any appeal. Once such a person is identified as an illegal immigrant, the DC will refer the illegal migrant to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) concerned for capturing his or her biometrics and demographic details on the Foreigners Identification Portal, the proposal read.
“If the illegal migrant does not remove himself despite the expulsion order, the DC, as per Section 4 of the Act of 1950, with the assistance of the SSP concerned, shall either keep such illegal immigrant in the holding centre or hand him over to the border guarding force nearest to him for expulsion,” the proposal read.
“Illegal immigrants, if detected near the zero line, or within 12 hours from his/her entry in the State, will be pushed back immediately without any further process,” it noted.
“If the District Commissioner (DC) receives such information from the police or any other source that a person is suspected to be an illegal immigrant, he will direct the person to produce evidence of his citizenship within 10 days,” the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
“If the DC finds that the evidence submitted by the suspected illegal immigrant is not sufficient/satisfactory to prove his citizenship of India, he will record his opinion in writing identifying the person to be an illegal immigrant, which shall consist of a concise statement of facts and the findings thereof with reasons,” he said.
“The DC shall pass an expulsion order under Section 2(a) of the Act of 1950 with the direction to remove the illegal immigrant from Assam by giving 24 hours’ time and by the route so specified by him. The DC may also pass any further order with regard to the removal of the illegal immigrant, if required under Section 2(b) of the Act,” the CM added.
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