The decision is part of the national operation initiated by the Ministry of the Interior to identify and deport Bangladesh and Rohingy illegally stay in the country. Picture for representation. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The Tamil Nadu government plans to set up a special working group for the deportation of Bangladesh and Rohingya (Myanmar Nationals) staying without valid travel documents in the state. The detail camps can soon be set at selected locations to detain illegal immigrants while the deportation process is launched.
This decision is part of the nationwide operation initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MHA) on the identification and deport of Bangladesh and Rohingya illegally staying in the country. MHA wrote to the main secretaries of all states/territories and asked them to set up a special working group in all districts under the police supervision to detect, identify and deport foreign nationals without valid travel documents.
After the Sindoor operation, hundreds of such illegal immigrants were identified in different states and handed over the border security force. They were “pushed back” to their countries. Most illegal immigrants settled in Gujarate and in the States along the Indian Bangladeshi border, such as Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya.
“We are in the process of establishing the STF and retention centers. Identification of illegal immigrants and the adoption of measures against them under the Act on Foreigners and the Passport Act is an ongoing process in Tamil NAD.
Political decision
Asked why the Tamil government did not build StF or the detention centers, even a month after MHA issued advice, he said that, given that the matter was a political decision and leadership of special camps for foreign nationals who were subject to the Ministry of Income.
In Tamil Nadu, 364 illegal immigrants were arrested since 2022 and 202 of them were taken into custody in 2025. The concentration of illegal immigrants is more in Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode and Chennai and his suburbs. It is suspicious that most of them have received Aadhaar cards and other evidence of an address or identity based on false documents. Illegal migrants are employed in the textile, construction and hospitality industries in these districts, police sources said.
MHA asked state coercive agencies to verify the claims of suspicious Bangladesh/Rohingya. If they claim Indian nationality and stay in other territories of the state/trade unions, officials of police or income departments were recommended to verify the matter by district judges.
District judges would ensure that after proper verification within 30 days, a suitable report on the deporting state or trade unions will be sent within 30 days. During the period of 30 days, the suspect will be kept in the detention center or possession.
If no report was taken within one month, foreigners could take registration official to deport suspicious Bangladesh/Rohingya after capturing their biometry, facial photographs and demographic details of the identification portal of foreigners, they added sources.
Published – June 11, 2025 20:58
