1.15 lakh declared foreigners remain untraced in Assam
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitation in the state was held on the premise that numerous illegal Bangladeshis would get citizenship once it was implemented. But the reality says otherwise; so far only six persons have got Indian citizenship under the CAA.
According to facts tabled in the Assam Legislative Assembly today, a total of 70 individuals applied for citizenship after CAA was implemented in the country on March 11, 2024. After examining their applications, only six individuals have been granted citizenship under CAA so far.
As per data tabled in the Assembly by the Home and Political Department, as of April 30, 2026, a total of 1,15,503 individuals were declared foreigners in the state, but they remain untraced. Now the question arises: the Foreigner Tribunals and courts declared so many people as foreigners, but why have the police and other security agencies not been able to keep track of them? Maybe a section of these people acquired Aadhaar cards or other documents, and they have blended with the local population. Earlier, there was no provision to keep declared foreigners in detention or to record their biometrics. Also, they didn't give proper addresses, so it was not possible to track them down.
Until June 30, 2026, as many as 31,789 declared foreigners were deported from the state. Many of them were also pushed back to their home country.
According to the data placed before the Assembly today, in the period from 2016 to June 2026, a total of 2090 illegal foreigners were pushed back. Of these, 1308 were from Bangladesh, 754 from Myanmar, 18 from Nigeria, two each from Afghanistan, Russia and Ukraine, and one each from Pakistan, Kenya, Nepal and Uganda.
At present, there are three transit camps/holding centres in Matia in the Goalpara district, Charaikhola in the Kokrajhar district and Eraligol in the Sribhumi district, and 174 declared foreigners are lodged in these camps.
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