CM Biren Singh confirms detecting 5,457 ‘illegal immigrants’ in Manipur’s Kamjong district

On Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, Chief Minister N Biren Singh informed that the Manipur Government has detected 5,457 “illegal immigrants” in the Kamjong district and measures are being taken for their deportation, as of May 7.

Government Actions and Deportation of Illegal Immigrants

Taking to X, Singh wrote, “The Government has detected a total of 5457 illegal immigrants in Kamjong District, Manipur as of May 7th, 2024. Out of the total, the biometric data of 5173 such illegal immigrants have been collected so far.”

On May 2, Singh reported that at least 38 additional “illegal immigrants” from Myanmar who had crossed across to Manipur earlier this month were deported via Moreh town in Tengnoupal district. The CM said his government has been providing humanitarian aid to all the “illegal immigrants”.

“Deportation process is underway. We have been giving humanitarian aides to all the illegal immigrants who were detected so far. Despite being alarming, we have been handling it with utmost sensitivity,” Singh added.

“The biometrics of those staying at Phaikoh, Huimi Thana/Sangkalok refugee camps are being obtained,” an official added. “We have been handling this situation with utmost sensitivity,” he said. In the first phase, he added, 77 such people were deported.

Ethnic Unrest and Humanitarian Crisis Amidst Illegal Immigration

Reports surfaced in March of this year about the airlifting of seven Myanmar nationals—including women—from Imphal International Airport to the border town of Moreh to deport them.

The chief minister had mentioned how it threatened “indigenous people and national security” last month, highlighting a study on the artificial emergence of 996 new settlements with a population of illegal immigrants.

In response to a query from the opposition at the most recent state assembly session, Chief Minister Singh stated that 6,746 undocumented Myanmaese were found in the state between May 3 of last year and February 27 of this year.

Ethnic conflicts between the Kuki and Meitei clans have engulfed Manipur since May 2023. Since the start of the fighting, the violence has resulted in at least 224 deaths and the eviction of 60,000 people.

Singh had ascribed the ethnic unrest in September to individuals traveling freely over the border from Myanmar. The military regime in the neighboring nation, which came back to power in a coup in February 2021, is being opposed by the pro-democracy militia in Myanmar.

People from Myanmar have been compelled to escape their country due to the unrest and seek safety in India, particularly in Mizoram and Manipur. As of April 30, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that 86,000 people have applied for asylum in India.

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