Home Ministry Directs Manipur and Mizoram Governments to Collect Biometric Data of Alleged Illegal Migrants

Aizawl, 11 July (Zoram News): In a recent development, the Union Home Ministry has instructed the governments of Manipur and Mizoram to gather "biographic and biometric details" of individuals suspected to be illegal migrants.

The directive, issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, emphasized the need to capture retina, iris, and fingerprints as part of this biometric information. The ministry's letter, dated June 22, reminded the states to complete the exercise by September 30. Notably, a meeting chaired by Mr. Bhalla on April 28 discussed the collation of information concerning illegal migrants in these two states, which share a border with Myanmar.

Following a military coup in Myanmar earlier this year, approximately 40,000 refugees from the neighboring country sought refuge in Mizoram, with an additional 4,000 refugees reportedly entering Manipur. These refugees belong to the Kuki-Chin-Zo ethnic group, which shares close ties with communities in Mizoram and Manipur. The Mizoram government has established relief camps to accommodate these refugees.

The Home Ministry's letter explicitly mentions the campaign to capture biometric data of alleged illegal migrants in Manipur and Mizoram, with a deadline of September 30, 2023. The letter urges both state governments to promptly devise a plan and initiate the biometric data capture process.

It is worth noting that the Home Ministry had previously issued comprehensive instructions and guidelines concerning the overstay and illegal migration of foreign nationals. The guidelines, initially circulated on March 30, 2021, were reissued to all state governments on October 21, 2022, for compliance. In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretaries of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh in 2021, the ministry urged them to take appropriate legal actions to curb illegal influx from Myanmar into India. Additionally, the letter emphasized that state governments lack the authority to grant "refugee" status to any foreigner, given that India is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol.

To facilitate the data collection process, the governments of Manipur and Mizoram have designated Nodal Officers responsible for inputting the information into the centralized illegal foreigners' portal maintained by the Bureau of Immigration and the Home Ministry.