Assam’s Foreigners Tribunal Granted Power to Detain Illegal Immigrants

The Home Ministry has empowered Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals to directly detain suspected illegal immigrants in designated camps, a function previously handled via executive orders. The quasi-judicial body determines an individual’s immigration status. Under the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025, which replaces the 1964 Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, tribunals can issue detention orders if a person fails to appear after their nationality is contested. Initially, 11 Illegal Migrant Determination Tribunals were set up in Assam, later converted following the Supreme Court’s 2005 repeal of the 1983 Act. Currently, about 100 Foreigners Tribunals operate across the state.