Over 2k pushed back in 3 mths, illegal entry of foreigners reduced: Himanta

Guwahati: Over past three months, over 2,000 people have been “pushed back”, who were attempting to infiltrate India through Assam, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday.“Recently, we started a push-back initiative to expel foreign nationals.

We detected and pushed back more than 2,000 people in the last three months. As a result, the inflow of illegal foreigners into Assam has been reduced at a much faster rate,” Sarma said.The CM said the hallmark of the new year will be expulsion of foreigners, like the focus was on clearing govt and forest land of encroachments in the first four years of his govt, before adding that his govt will adopt an aggressive “push-back” policy, under which those declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) will be expelled within one week of the order.He added that the new decision will prevent delays in deportation, noting that declared foreigners often approach the high court or the Supreme Court, which in turn delays the expulsion process. “We felt there was a need to adopt a non-compromising attitude on the issue of illegal foreigners,” Sarma said.The CM said that after the Supreme Court upheld the state’s Illegal Immigrant Expulsion Act, the “push-back” mechanism had formally become a policy of the govt.

Expressing confidence that the BJP-led alliance will return to power, Sarma said the state could expel between 10,000 and 50,000 illegal immigrants annually over the next five years.He said the 1985 Assam Accord did not lay down clear guidelines on the expulsion of illegal immigrants after detection, adding that even those lodged in detention centres earlier enjoyed facilities similar to those available in the villages where they had lived.Citing the Supreme Court’s order, Sarma said that once a person is declared a foreigner, district authorities are empowered to expel them from the state.According to state government data, between May 2021 and Nov 2025, Foreigners Tribunals have disposed of 59,757 cases, declaring 30,264 people as foreigners. During this period, 1,517 persons — including declared foreigners, convicted foreign nationals and fresh illegal migrants — were deported or pushed back.