CM proposes House Committee to study issue of illegal immigrants
Leishiyo bats for realistic anti-immigration law
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 06 2024: Phungyar AC MLA Leishiyo Keishing has proposed the Manipur Legislative Assembly to enact a realistic and action oriented anti-immigration law.

Raising a call attention motion in the State Assembly today on the incessant influx of large number of illegal immigrants from Myanmar into several villages of Kamjong district, Leishiyo Keishing pointed out that illegal immigration has become a serious issue in many countries including developed ones across the world.

In Manipur too, illegal immigration has become a big challenge in several villages of Kamjong district.

Even in the USA, illegal immigration has proved to be a serious challenge and it is a big issue in the upcoming Presidential election, he said.

CM proposes House Committee to study issue of illegal immigrants

The unrest in Myanmar has been driving tens of thousands of people to migrate to Manipur illegally and they are posing a threat to the National security.

Illegal immigration also give rise to criminal activities, organised crimes and even acts of terrorism, Leishiyo said.

Incessant influx also leads to demographic imbalance and exacerbates corruption apart from putting pressure on the local economy, he said.

Offering to work at lower wages, the immigrants have been snatching jobs from the indigenous people.

By and by, they (illegal immigrants) try to usurp the shares of Government welfare schemes entitled to the indigenous people, he said.

With illegal immigrants constituting 15 per cent of the total population in the US, 18.8 per cent in Germany and 39 per cent in Saudi Arabia, these countries are now facing severe crises.

The total population of illegal immigrants in India is estimated to be around 10 million, the NPF MLA said.

Quoting a news report published in The Sangai Express on August 5, 2024, Leishiyo Keishing said that the total number of illegal immigrants in Manipur is estimated to be 10,590 .

This must be an approximate figure based on police reports.

As there is no effective detection system, the total number of illegal immigrants in Manipur might be much higher, he said.

Neither NRC has been implemented nor is there any comprehensive or realistic policy to identify illegal immigrants in the State, he pointed out.

But the report that there are 6199 illegal immigrants in Kamjong is a fact, he asserted.

Saying that he has personally visited the shelter homes where the illegal immigrants are housed, Leishiyo Keishing informed the House that the illegal immigrants have been going back and forth across the Indo (Manipur)-Myanmar border.

As a result, the total number of illegal immigrants in Kamjong has been fluctuating, he added.

As the indigenous villagers and the illegal immigrants have been living together, there have been several cases of inter-marriage, he said before quoting former US President Donald Trump's statement on the issue of illegal immigration, "They are poisoning the blood of my country" .

Children of mixed blood are now emerging in several villages of Kamjong district, he said.

It is also not clear whether the children born out of such inter-marriages are legitimate or illegitimate, Leishiyo said.

The report that there are only 2409 illegal immigrants in Tengnoupal, 150 in Churachandpur and 1895 in Chandel which are the hotspots of the current crisis is unbelievable given the fact that there are 6199 illegal immigrants in Kamjong district, he asserted.

He then suggested the House enact a realistic, action oriented anti-immigration law.

Whereas NRC is about identification of illegal immigrants who have already settled here, the Foreigners Act cannot effectively check illegal immigration in the State, he added.

To check illegal immigration into Manipur, it is essential to develop road infrastructure in the border areas, deploy adequate security forces, alleviate the standard of living of the indigenous people, open more border police outposts, install an integrated border management system and ensure regular patrolling by security forces, Leishiyo said.

He also expressed keen desire to strengthen border police stations/outposts and enhance their manpower.

He further sought the Chief Minister's attention to take up the matter of border fencing with the Central Government and see that the border fencing is done without sacrificing the State's territory.

Acknowledging that the issue of illegal immigration is now an alarming reality in the State, Chief Minister N Biren stated that a House committee may be formed to study the issue and the committee may make recommendations to check influx of illegal immigrants.

"I cannot sleep on seeing satellite images which show new villages set up by illegal immigrants from Myanmar in different parts of Manipur", Biren said.

There is a report that there are around 10,000 illegal immigrants in Manipur but this figure reflects only those people who immigrated to Manipur recently on account of the current unrest in Manipur.

There would be many more illegal immigrants who crossed into Manipur over the years, the Chief Minister stated.

Apart from the Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising Cabinet Ministers Letpao Haokip, Awangbow Newmai and Th Basantakumar, another committee headed by Commissioner Sailash Kumar Chaurasia as chairman and comprising IGP Kabib, Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police was formed to probe the issue of illegal immigration.

The State Government did not launch the investigation independently.

It was done after discussing the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Prime Minister was also shown the satellite images of the illegal immigrants and the new villages set up by them, Biren said.

The committee visited 44 border villages and 2480 illegal immigrants were detected, he said.

Moreover, 140 illegal immigrants who were engaged in a weaving firm at Churachandpur were also pulled up.

India is not a signatory of the UN Refugee Convention, 1951 or its 1967 Protocol.

As such, there is no policy to settle illegal immigrants in India but the refugees may be accommodated temporarily on humanitarian ground.

The illegal immigrants from Myanmar must be repatriated as soon as the Myanmar crisis is over, he said.

Of the 10,000 illegal immigrants detected in recent years, 2619 have been repatriated to Myanmar, the Chief Minister told the House.

Biren cautioned that Manipur will face a serious political and socio-economic crisis if the illegal immigrants from Myanmar are not repatriated in time.

Supporting the call attention motion of Leishiyo Keishing, Opposition leader Okram Ibobi expressed support to the Chief Minister's suggestion to form a House Committee on the issue of illegal immigration.

Subsequently, Speaker Th Satyabrata asked the Members of the House if they support the idea of forming a House Committee.

As all the Members replied in positive, the Manipur Legislative Assembly agreed to form a committee to examine the issue of illegal immigration.