Home Ministry issues Deportation Manual 2026 to states, sets SOPs for illegal migrant action

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs has written to states and Union Territories, issuing the Deportation Manual 2026 to guide action on prevention, detection, movement restrictions and deportation of illegal migrants, officials said.

In addition to states and UTs, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for deportation have been shared with Border Guarding Forces (BGFs), the Bureau of Immigration (BOI), Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), and Foreigners Registration Offices (FROs). Officials said the document will serve as an operational guide for the deportation of illegal migrants.

The development comes ahead of upcoming state elections in border states such as Assam and West Bengal, where the issue of illegal migration has been raised by various political parties. Officials noted that illegal immigrants often enter the country without valid travel documents in a clandestine and surreptitious manner.


An official explained that the detection, detention, and deportation of such illegally staying foreign nationals, including Bangladeshi nationals, is an ongoing process. On the number of illegal migrants in the country, another official said, "Since the entry of such foreign nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to obtain accurate data on the number of Bangladeshis living in various parts of the country."

As per the law, the Union government is vested with powers to detain a foreign national staying illegally in the country under Section 3(2)(e) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and to deport such individuals under Section 3(2)(c) of the same Act. These powers have also been entrusted to state governments under Article 258(1) of the Constitution since 1958.

Further, under Article 239(1) of the Constitution, administrators of UTs have been directed to discharge the functions of the Union government with regard to the detention and deportation of illegally staying foreign nationals.