West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has directed district magistrates to establish 'holding centres' for apprehended illegal immigrants before their deportation. This move follows a May 2025 order from the Union Home Ministry.
The centres are to be set up in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines. The state's order to district magistrates stated that holding centres should be established for apprehended foreigners and released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation or repatriation.
This decision comes after Adhikari's meeting with top Border Security Force (BSF) and state police officers, where he handed over land for setting up fences over 27km of open stretches of the India-Bangladesh border.
The BJP had made infiltration a key issue in the recent state assembly elections, and the party won 207 of Bengal's 294 seats against the Trinamool Congress's 80.
