Home Ministry Issues 30-Day Ultimatum to States

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has set a deadline of 30 days for the states and union territories to identify and check the documents of suspected illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. According to the instructions of the ministry, if the documents of the migrants are not confirmed within this period, they will be deported from the country.

In the instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs this month, the states and union territories have been directed to use their statutory powers to identify, investigate and start the process of deportation of illegal migrants. Along with this, all the states have been asked to set up adequate detention centers at the district level, where suspected migrants will be kept till the process of deportation is completed. This step is part of the policy of the central government, under which strict action is being taken against illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

According to the Home Ministry, it will be mandatory for all the states and union territories to keep a record of Bangladeshi citizens and Rohingya migrants who are handed over for deportation by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Coast Guard. Along with this, it will be necessary to submit a report to the central government in this regard on the 15th of every month. The ministry has directed the Bureau of Immigration to make the list of deported persons available on a public portal. This information will be shared with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Election Commission and Ministry of External Affairs to stop issuing Aadhaar numbers, voter ID cards and passports. If illegal migrants already have such documents, they will be deactivated.