A total of 36,358 persons have been declared foreigners by various Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs) in Assam between 2021 and May 31, 2026, Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora informed the Assam Legislative Assembly.
Replying to a question raised by Congress MLA Mohibur Rohman during Question Hour, Bora said 2,494 of those declared foreigners were identified as pre-1971 foreigners, while 33,864 were classified as post-1971 foreigners.
According to the minister, the tribunals declared 7,151 persons as foreigners in 2021, 9,028 in 2022, 6,859 in 2023, 6,178 in 2024, 5,106 in 2025 and 2,036 between January 1 and May 31, 2026.
Bora further informed the House that 196 declared foreigners have been deported, sent back or expelled to Bangladesh between 2021 and June 30, 2026. Of these, one person each was deported in 2021, 2022 and 2023, while 126 were deported in 2025 and 67 till June 30 this year.
The minister also stated that Assam currently has 91,385 ‘D’ (Doubtful) voters. As of May 31, 2026, 41,059 cases relating to ‘D’ voters are pending before various Foreigners’ Tribunals across the state.
In a separate reply during the Assembly session, Atul Bora said that 38.959 kilometres of the 267-km India-Bangladesh border in Assam is yet to be fenced.
He said border fencing has been completed along 27.30 km in Cachar, 93.95 km in Sribhumi, and 107 km in Dhubri and South Salmara districts. However, fencing work has faced challenges along the Kushiyara River in Sribhumi district, where conventional fencing is not feasible. To strengthen security in such areas, observation posts have been constructed.
The minister said the state government has also initiated “push-back” operations to curb illegal infiltration and is strengthening the second line of defence in coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF). Fourteen Border Outposts (BOPs) have already been established along the international border.
