5457 illegal immigrants detected at Kamjong : CM

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, May 8 : The Government has detected 5,457 illegal immigrants in Kamjong as of May 7, 2024, said Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday as he raised the issue of illegal immigrants on his social media handle again.
N Biren in a post on X (formerly Twitter) today continued that the deportation process for these illegal immigrants is underway.
Notably, the Chief Minister has been uploading a series of tweets and posts on his social media pages viz X, Instagram and Facebook on loss of forest cover in Manipur since the last few decades and how the influx of illegal immigrants poses a threat to National security and the future of the natives.  
As per the Chief Minister, biometrics data of 5173 illegal immigrants have been collected and their deportation process is underway.
The post of the Chief Minister says, “The Government has detected a total of 5457 illegal immigrants in Kamjong district, Manipur as on May 7th, 2024. Out of the total, the biometric data of 5173 such illegal immigrants have been collected so far. Deportation process is underway.
“We have been giving humanitarian aids to all the illegal immigrants who were detected so far. Despite being an alarming situation, we have been handling it with utmost sensitivity.”
Earlier on April 30, the Chief Minister N Biren had stated that the influx of illegal immigrants from Myan- mar and establishment of hundreds of unauthorised villages in the State is a threat to National security and the survival of natives.
Meanwhile in a recent interview with The Week, the Chief Minister had asserted that all the illegal immigrants have to be deported as the State cannot accommodate all of them.
He had also stated that Kuki Chin people with close ties live on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border but many of them have mingled with the local population.
The Chief Minister had also asked where the indigenous people will go if the illegal immigrants are allowed to settle permanently in the State.
Here is the excerpt of what the Chief Minister had said in the interview
"The Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur is 398km long, and there was no fencing at all. In the past, attempts were made to fence around 4km, but even that could not be completed…. Under the BJP tenure, we fenced around 10km of the border, and work will begin to fence another 21km. But the fact is that the border is porous and totally unguarded, and people have been coming and going at will. The Kuki-Chin population is living on both sides of the border with close ties. The Free Movement Regime enacted in the past was brought in to facilitate their easy movement. But taking advantage of this facility, people came and settled here illegally. The economic situation in Myanmar cannot be compared with the Indian side. So, settling down here is far more advantageous, and they get free ration, water, electricity and schools. Since the language, ethnicity, religion, community are same on both sides, it is difficult to identify the outsiders. A peculiar entry in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Manipur called ‘any Kuki tribe’ also enables them to get access to benefits of tribals. In the last 20 to 30 years, a huge population has entered Manipur creating an alarming situation today.
On arguing that a large population that has already entered over the years cannot be pushed back, the Chief Minister responded, "Why not? We should push them back. Under the Inner Line Permit guidelines, we have kept 1961 as the base year to segregate indigenous and non-indigenous popula-tions. We have begun taking data….Approximately 2,400 persons who came earlier and nearly 7,400 new entrants have been identified, and we have started the process of deportation from Chandel, Churachandpur and Moreh. If all of them are accommodated, where will the indigenous people go? This is also one of the reasons for the resistance to the State Govt’s policies.”
In another post on X, Chief Minister N Biren wrote, “In this crucial juncture, we have noticed certain home grown groups, based out of western countries, criticising the steps taken up against illegal immigration by giving a communal tone and propagating it as violations of religious freedom.
“This is a situation where the survival of indigenous people is at stake and we will not allow it to continue.
“Ironically, this lobby is quiet about western countries' stance against illegal immigration but raises objections to the actions taken in Manipur, India. This selective outrage raises concerns about the agendas and propaganda pursued by these groups with secessionist tendencies.”