The government led by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has gone ahead with its election promise to “detect, delete and deport” illegal aliens, directing all district magistrates to set up “detention centres” for illegal immigrants detained before they are deported, a move that bears similarities to US President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to deport millions of people.
It is worth noting that the BJP made illegal infiltration one of its key campaign issues during the recently concluded Assembly elections. Likewise, during his election campaign, Trump promised what he described as the largest mass deportation campaign of illegal immigrants in US history.
Bengal BJP govt moves against ‘illegal foreigners’
A directive issued by the Aliens Branch of the state Home and Hills Affairs Department on May 23 asked district judges to build the required facilities to accommodate “detained foreigners” and “released foreign prisoners” until the deportation process is completed.
This comes soon after the Prime Minister announced that the government had adopted a policy of “detect, delete and deport”, a phrase that has long been associated with the BJP’s political messaging in Bengal on infiltration and border issues.
The order also referred to the advisory issued by the Union Home Ministry in May last year, which detailed procedures for dealing with Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas found to be living illegally in India.
“In this regard, appropriate initiative/action is requested to establish detention centers in the area for detained foreigners as well as for released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation/repatriation,” the order said.
What we know about “detention centers”
Officials told news agency PTI that the proposed facilities would serve as temporary centers for people detained for suspected illegal stay and for foreign nationals whose deportation proceedings are being processed.
Under the centre’s guidelines, people suspected of entering the country illegally may be kept in such facilities for up to 30 days while authorities verify their nationalities and documents.
The final decision on citizenship status will be in the hands of district judges or officers of the same rank.
How Suvendu government’s move resembles Trump’s move
Immigration played a major role in Trump’s 2024 election victory and has remained one of his defining policy issues.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been central to Trump’s immigration actions. Human rights groups said these measures violate freedom of expression and due process, and create an atmosphere of fear. However, Trump said these policies are intended to reduce illegal immigration and enhance homeland security.
In July of last year, ICE introduced a policy saying any immigrant crossing the border without permission could face mandatory detention and could be detained without a bail hearing, which is similar to bail in the immigration system.
In this way, ICE has given itself the authority to detain millions of people for an indefinite period without giving them the opportunity to challenge the reasons for their detention.
Notably, Suvendu recently announced that infiltrators detained by the state police would be handed over directly to the Border Security Force (BSF) for deportation instead of being subjected to lengthy legal procedures.
In January this year, Mamata Banerjee, the then chief minister of Bengal and president of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), accused border guarding forces of allowing Bangladeshis to illegally cross the border into the state as part of what she called a “central government scheme”.
She said: “The border is not guarded by the Transitional Military Council or the police, but rather by border guard forces.” “They facilitate infiltration, allow criminals to cross borders, commit murders, and escape.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has increased the number of detained immigrants and spent billions of dollars on a controversial plan to detain more people in converted warehouse facilities used as immigration detention centers. The Bengal BJP government’s proposal for ‘detention centres’ is similar to Trump’s efforts to create ‘immigrant detention centres’.
While some aspects of both approaches appear similar, Trump’s campaign against illegal immigration has faced criticism for aggressive actions by ICE and long detention periods in such centers.
The campaign in Bengal is still at an early stage, and it is not yet clear how Suvendu’s government will implement its promise to “expose, delete and deport”.
With input from agencies
