The Union government told the Delhi High Court that it had received information from security agencies indicating that some Rohingya migrants illegally staying in India had links to Pakistan-based terrorist organizations and other bodies. similar operating in other countries.
In an affidavit filed in court, the Regional Aliens Registration Office (FRRO) said there was an organized influx of illegal migrants from Myanmar through agents and touts facilitating the entry of Rohingyas in India via Benapole-Haridaspur (Bangladesh-West Bengal), Hilli (West Bengal) and Sonamora (Tripura), Calcutta and Guwahati.
The affidavit was filed on September 20, in response to a petition by Senoara Begum, a Myanmar woman and her three children who live in India, challenging the decision of the Union Home Ministry and the FRRO denying their applications for exit permits to leave India and travel to the United States.
In her plea, the woman said that she and her husband, Nurul Amin, were victims of persecution in their country of origin, Myanmar. After resettling in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, they married in 2004.
While Amin moved to the United States in 2015, obtained citizenship of the country and obtained permanent residency visas for petitioners, he is now working to bring his family there as well.
But when the petitioner and her children arrived in India from Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh and applied for an exit permit, the authorities asked them to present a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC) from the Embassy. of Myanmar and an affidavit regarding their recent trip. . The family, however, said they were “stateless” and could not get the NOC.
However, the Center said it is the policy of the Indian government that such illegal aliens be deported to their country of origin subject to verification of their nationality, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Union Government has also said that it cannot grant illegal migrants exit to a third country as this would be completely against existing guidelines, and added that there is no binding obligation for them in under an international convention or treaty.
He added that granting exit permits to illegal migrants like the petitioner would also affect similar cases of other refugees and convey the message that the Indian government supports/facilitates the resettlement of illegal migrants to third countries. , which would be detrimental to the international relations of the Indian government.
“The nexus between the touts and the agents as mentioned above will use the situation to their advantage to further increase the influx of more Rohingyas into India, which would again open a Pandora’s box for the Indian government, which already faces the threat of illegal migration across its porous borders,” he added.
Saying that the situation seriously undermines the national security of the nation, FRRO, asserted that India is already “beset with a very serious problem of illegal migrants and is trying to resolve this situation for the wider benefit of the nation, keeping the national resources of the country, the needs of its own population, national security concerns and several other facts to be taken into consideration”.
He said that due to the high influx of illegal immigrants from neighboring countries, the demographic profile of some of the bordering states has already undergone a serious change which is already causing far-reaching complications in various contexts and making havoc and has a direct detrimental effect on the fundamental human rights of the citizens of the country.
“It is respectfully submitted that India is a country with a large population, a surplus labor force and a complex social, cultural and economic infrastructure. Providing facilities/privileges to illegal immigrants from existing national resources, apart from the aforementioned direct threat to national security, would also have a direct negative impact on Indian citizens as it would deprive Indian citizens of their rightful share in the sector. employment, subsidized housing, medical and educational facilities and would thus lead to hostility towards immigrants inevitably leading to social tensions and problems of public order. The fundamental rights of Indian citizens would therefore be seriously violated,” the FRRO said.
