West Bengal starts deportation drive, illegal Bangladeshi immigrants gather at borders; videos viral

At the Hakimpur checkpoint in the Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas, over a hundred Bangladeshi men and women gathered seeking to cross back over the international border.

NewsBharati    26-May-2026 17:58:21 PM   
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On Tuesday, May 26, large numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants began congregating at several border points across West Bengal, as the BJP government's newly launched "detect, delete and deport" policy moves from political announcement to ground-level implementation. Several videos of the illegal immigrants gathering around the borders of North 24 Parganas and Malda are making the rounds on social media, indicating that the state's anti-infiltration drive is now translating into concrete administrative action.
 
illegal immigration Bangladesh 

At the Hakimpur checkpoint in the Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas, over a hundred Bangladeshi men and women gathered seeking to cross back over the international border. Many of those present had allegedly been residing illegally in various parts of West Bengal and made their way to the checkpoint following recent government announcements about deportation proceedings and the establishment of holding centres for foreign nationals.
 
 
 
 
One of the illegal immigrant could be seen talking to the media and blaming the BJP for their return. "We are Bangladeshi citizens. We want to return to our homeland, Bangladesh. Ever since the BJP government came to power, poor people like us have been treated very badly. We even had voter cards, but the EC cancelled them during the SIR," he said. Amid this, he indirectly indicated that they faced no 'problem' when the TMC government was in power. 

This comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on May 20th announced the implementation of a mechanism under which infiltrators detained by state police would be handed over directly to the BSF for deportation, while unveiling what he described as part of a broader "detect, delete and deport" framework.
 
 

The announcement signalled a sharper policy turn on infiltration and border management, long among the BJP's most potent political themes in Bengal, at the centre of the new government's agenda. Adhikari said those communities covered under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) would remain outside the ambit of the new mechanism, while others identified as infiltrators would face action with immediate effect.
 
 
 

It is important to note that the illegal immigration from neighboring Bangladesh has created serious demographic, economic, and security challenges in the border districts of the state of West Bengal in the past few years. The earlier government led by the All India Trinamool Congress was pursuing vote-bank politics by allegedly turning a blind eye to undocumented migration and weak border enforcement.

However, it failed to notice that illegal immigration placed pressure on public resources, altered local social dynamics, and contributed to criminal activities such as smuggling, document forgery, cattle trafficking, and organized border crimes in certain regions. Several such illegal immigrants were also found to be involved in incidents of love jihad. BJP leaders have earlier repeatedly demanded stricter citizenship verification, stronger border security, and tougher action against networks involved in illegal settlement and cross-border crimes. However, evidently, the power change was necessary for the country to get rid of such illegal immigrants.
Bangladeshi illegal immigration West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari
Siddhi Somani

Siddhi Somani

Siddhi Somani is known for her satirical and factual hand in Economic, Social and Political writing. Having completed her post graduation in Journalism, she is currently engaged in completing her Masters in Politics. The author meanwhile is also exploring her hand in analytics and statistics.