West Bengal adopts ‘Detect, Delete and Deport’ policy on undocumented immigrants
Describing the policy as 'Detect, Delete and Deport,' Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the federal Home Ministry had issued guidelines on 14 May last year, directing states to identify illegal infiltrators and transfer them to the BSF
When the BJP government in West Bengal yesterday (20 May) announced a three-step policy shift regarding the handling of undocumented immigrants in the state, it marked a muscular stance on issues that had been central to the party's election campaign.
More importantly, the policy has three key features: significant alignment between state and federal government policies, a strict crackdown on illegal immigration, and an end to the state's opposition to the CAA under TMC rule.
Describing the policy as "Detect, Delete and Deport," Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the federal Home Ministry had issued guidelines on 14 May last year, directing states to identify illegal infiltrators and transfer them to the BSF.
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The central government has formulated a new deportation policy under which all states have been asked to set up a special task force in each district to "detect, identify and deport/send back illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar" and provide a monthly status report on foreigners who are missing or overstaying their visas.
The Adhikari administration has thus officially implemented the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019, reversing the previous TMC government's complete opposition to the central legislation under which Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists who faced "religious persecution" in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan would be eligible for Indian citizenship.
The break from the TMC government's policy on the deportation of alleged illegal immigrants and border fencing reflects how national security has, in the past, remained stuck in a political tug of war.
According to the West Bengal government's new policy, persons belonging to the specified minority communities will be granted protection under the newly enforced legal framework.
Those who do not qualify under the citizenship law will be classified as illegal infiltrators, as per the policy.
The West Bengal police have been instructed to actively identify, arrest and detain these undocumented individuals. Following their detention, they will be handed over to the Border Security Force which, in consultation with Border Guard Bangladesh, will then initiate deportation proceedings.
It remains to be seen whether the list of alleged undocumented immigrants prepared by the West Bengal government would also be handed over to the Ministry of External Affairs, which then shares such names with its Bangladesh counterpart for nationality verification.
The ministry has more than once asked Bangladesh to expedite the verification process.
The existence of structured mechanisms, such as communication between the two countries' foreign ministries and the BSF-BGB channel on dealing with illegal immigrants, raises questions about the need for "push-ins" and "push-backs" along the border.
