Assam and Mizoram Tighten Border Controls Amid Illegal Immigration Surge

 India – June 28, 2025 – Northeastern states are stepping up efforts to curb illegal immigration, with Assam implementing stricter Aadhaar card issuance rules and Mizoram contemplating measures to manage Myanmar refugees, including potential ID confiscation and biometric data collection. While both states are tackling illegal migration challenges, their recent announcements highlight independent, albeit concurrent, strategies.

Assam Toughens Aadhaar Rules to Track Illegals: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Friday, June 27, 2025, that the state government is moving to empower only district commissioners (DCs) to issue Aadhaar cards to adults. This stringent measure is aimed squarely at preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining the unique biometric identity number, thereby making their identification and deportation more efficient.

"Many people who come to Assam from Bangladesh are adults. We have already achieved hundred percent Aadhaar coverage. So if any adult wants Aadhaar, we want to conduct a thorough inquiry first and allow only the DC to issue Aadhaar to them," Sarma stated. He expressed confidence that this move would deter illegal immigrants and simplify their tracking.

This decision comes amidst Assam's ongoing "pushback strategy," which has seen recent deportations of Bangladeshi nationals. Earlier in June, 35 Bangladeshis were deported from Katigorah, and 20 more were deported just the night before CM Sarma's announcement.

Mizoram Considers Confiscating Refugee IDs, Biometric Collection: Separately, the Mizoram government is contemplating measures to manage the influx of Myanmar refugees, particularly those who are repeatedly crossing the international border. Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma conveyed this plan to Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary Surinder Bhagat during a meeting in Aizawl on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

According to officials, CM Lalduhoma noted that while many refugees are law-abiding, some are "repeatedly crossing the border to go to Myanmar and come back to Mizoram taking advantage of the crisis in the neighbouring country." To address this, the state is considering confiscating the Myanmar-issued identity cards of such individuals.

Furthermore, Mizoram plans to begin the biometric enrolment of all Myanmar refugees taking shelter in the state, with the process likely to commence in July. This initiative aims to better manage and monitor the refugee population, which has significantly increased since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. Mizoram's Home Minister K Sapdanga also highlighted on Friday that over 50% of recent criminal cases in Mizoram were linked to people who came from outside.

Broader Context: Both Assam and Mizoram share porous international borders (with Bangladesh and Myanmar, respectively) and have long faced demographic and security challenges due to undocumented migration. The Election Commission of India (ECI) also announced earlier this week that it will conduct an intensive review of electoral rolls in several states, including Assam, by the end of 2025 to identify and remove illegal migrants. These collective actions underscore a heightened focus by both state and central governments on addressing illegal immigration in India's Northeast.