Assam authorises police, district officials to expel 'illegal migrants'; 'suspected foreigners' get 10 days to prove citizenship

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

49% : The Assam Cabinet on Tuesday cleared an SOP for implementing a 1950 law that empowers District Commissioners, instead of Foreigners Tribunals, to give "suspected foreigners" 10 days to prove their Indian citizenship or face "evacuation orders," which, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will allow the state government to bypass the existing citizenship determination system.
47% : He referred to an October 2024 Supreme Court Constitution Bench ruling that upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which fixes March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date for entry into Assam, declaring anyone who entered the state after that as an "illegal immigrant.
44% : Stating that the state government had decided to bypass Foreigners Tribunals, Biswa Sarma clarified, "Only in a confusing case, where the DC cannot arrive at a clear conclusion, if the DC can't prima facie determine that the person is a foreigner, will the matter be referred to the FT." Earlier in June, during the legislative assembly session Sarma announced that the Assam government would operationalize the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 (IEAA).

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