Assam Expels 303 Suspected Foreigners to Bangladesh Since May

India's northeastern state of Assam has intensified the expulsion of individuals it deems illegal immigrants, primarily targeting those it declares as foreigners by its tribunals, with 303 people pushed back to Bangladesh since May. Many of those affected are long-term residents with families and land in Assam, tracing their roots to Muslim-majority Bangladesh, and activists argue that these expulsions disproportionately target Muslims and wrongly classify many as foreigners. The expulsions have been driven by political pressures and competition for jobs and resources between Bengali-speaking immigrants and local Assamese speakers. Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma cited Supreme Court pressure to act on deporting declared foreigners and stated that these pushbacks will be intensified to protect the state. Human rights activists criticize the process as arbitrary and claim that many deportees are too poor to challenge the decisions in higher courts. Bangladesh's government has acknowledged receiving people from India and is reportedly in communication with New Delhi regarding the issue.