HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

 

Introduction

 Republican Senator John Kennedy views on the problem of illegal immigration are   true in the Indian context, considering our political system of please all annoy none, ignoring national security concerns.  He says, “Part of the problem is that there are people in our country in positions of power to whom border is a nuisance, and I think some of them believe that illegal immigration is a moral good. It is not. It undermines legal immigration.” Human trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal immigration bear close resemblance are closely interlinked.  Human trafficking is entrapping people through lure, coercion, fraud, exploitation and accumulate material and financial benefits as part of organized syndicates. It involves the recruitment, transport, harbour, and shifting of human beings in the interlinked chain. This may involve slavery through forced labour, child labour, commercial sexual exploitation, and child sex abuse.  Human trafficking is serious violation of human rights and is forced slavery. Contrary to human trafficking, which involves obtaining voluntary consent for movement under duress or fraud, human smuggling involves promissory note of service by organised syndicates or individuals through documentation to facilitate transportation of an individual or group that voluntarily seeks to gain illegal entry into a region or foreign country. Both human trafficking and smuggling involve exploitation.   Illegal immigration, in simple terms, is the migration or illegal entry of people into a country in total disregard for and violation of a country’s immigration laws.  Thus, human trafficking and human smuggling both may involve illegality called illegal immigration. In the Indian context, country is plagued with the scourge of illegal immigration, wherein illegal immigrants basically have flooded many regions, especially the northeast, disturbing the demographic profile and leading to security concerns.  Illegal immigration takes form of both human trafficking and human smuggling basically for economic upliftment from Bangladesh, Myanmar. Human trafficking and smuggling are also from Nepal without involving criminal intent of human smuggling.  

Human trafficking & Illegal immigration-Indian perspective

Human trafficking and illegal immigration are purely poverty and unemployment induced need-based illegal exercises. Organized crime and illegal immigration syndicates, execute these. These syndicates work in close coordination to hoodwink border guards and law enforcement agencies. How do they work? From an Indian perspective in human trafficking, the focus is on the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, where girls are trafficked under the garb of promise of a job forced to submit through physical and mental violence. As far as illegal immigration syndicates are concerned, in India and Bangladesh, they are well-oiled and well-coordinated organizational cells, which work with total dedication and efficiency until the migrants reach the targeted destination, which may be Delhi, Mumbai, or any other part of the country. The export chain begins in any region of Bangladesh. The group of immigrants is brought close to the border with tout/guide already in touch with a tout or agent on the Indian side of the border. At opportune time, migrants are pushed into India by breaching the fence, under bridges, or through hume pipes, by deceiving border guards. The Indian tout takes them to a pre-decided safe house.  From there, are taken to the nearest railway station and are received by agents at designated bus stops with railway tickets and made to board the destination train or bus, as the case may be. It may happen that these illegal immigrants are saddled with drugs or counterfeit currency and are met at the destination by local handlers who distribute them as per their profile. Thus, a fail-safe chain of export and import exists. This fail-safe chain sometimes may involves local enforcement agency at destination stations who turn blind eye to such activities for consideration. 

The government accepts that illegal immigration from Bangladesh is problematic. On July 14, 2004, then Minister of State for Home Affairs in the UPA government told Rajya Sabha that there was more than one crore twenty-lakh illegal Bangladeshi migrants spread over 17 states and union territories.   However, he later withdrew the statement. In November 2016, in written reply, then Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju informed Rajya Sabha that, “As per available inputs, there are 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in India.” He further stated that there are reports of Bangladeshi nationals having entered the country without travel documents since the entry is clandestine and surreptitious; it is not possible to have data on Bangladeshi nationals living in various parts of the country.  

Need for analysis and structured Response 

An analysis of the data presented in parliament revealed that the problem of illegal immigration into and from India is of colossal magnitude. An in-depth analysis of causes is needed for framing a structured response mechanism. On 07 December 2023, the government accepted that US customs and border protection website mentions encountering 96,917 illegal Indians into the USA, a clear indicator of numbers, whereas on December 19, 2024, government reply is ambivalent despite data available with government and in the public domain. The problem of illegal immigration from Bangladesh is well known. In 2004, the government came out with a figure of 12 million Bangladeshis, only to retract later. In 2016, the figure reached 20 million, an increase of 08 million in about 11 years, an increase of seven lakhs plus Bangladeshi migrants per year. How the figures arrived and the methodology adopted to arrive at these figures is not known. The push back mechanism need to be strengthened to rid the country of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in the interest of national security, societal harmony, peace, and development.  

 Pattern of illegal immigration into country from Bangladesh

The continued unabated migration from East Bengal/East Pakistan and later Bangladesh into West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura has considerably affected  demographic profile of these states is clearly brought out in the census data of population growth of bordering states.

As per the census, in West Bengal, between 1951 and 1961, approximately 4.5 lakh migrants from East Pakistan, mostly Hindus, entered the state, resulting in a marginal increase in the Hindu population from 78.45 percent in 1951 to 78.80 percent in 1961. Since the 1960s, thepopulation of Hindus in the state has steadily declined.[1] On the other hand, the Muslim population registered an increase of 0.46 percent in 1971, which grew to 5 percent in 2001. Between 1991 and 2001, North 24 Pargana, Murshidabad, and Malda bordering Bangladesh saw population rise of 22.64, 23.70%, and 24.77%, respectively, a growth rate much higher than the average population growth of 17.84 percent. The significant growth in the Muslim population is attributable to illegal migration from Bangladesh.[2]  As far as Tripura is concerned, for the first decade after independence, the state population increased from 6.39 lakhs to 11.42 lakh an increase of 78.71 percent. In the subsequent three decades, the population growth rate continued to hover at around 30-35 percent.[3]

States of West Bengal. Assam and Tripura received bulk of illegal immigrants from East Pakistan/Bangladesh in the initial decades. However, in later years, other states also saw an increase in population. Nagaland experienced a population growth of 56.08 percent in 1981-91 to 64.41 percent in 1991-2001.[4]This can be attributed to the influx of Bangladeshis. If an increase in the Muslim population is taken as a barometer of illegal immigration, almost all NE states except for Manipur have seen an increase in the Muslim population. Thus, the problem of illegal immigration from Bangladesh is complex.

Dimensions of human trafficking

Human trafficking requires in-depth analysis considering its multifarious facets. Compelling social and economic inequalities supposedly lead to exploitation and vulnerability in the vicious cycle of human trafficking. The main reasons for trafficking are extreme poverty; deprivation; destitution; non-availability of economic opportunities, severe gender discrimination; socioeconomic discrimination, and unemployment of victims, parents, or spouses, which push the vulnerable into trafficking. The unavailability of or inequitable accessibility of    social security measures, especially to marginalized sections, especially women and children, is one of the factors that influence the menace of human trafficking. Lack of stringent legislation or poor execution of legislation failing to protect victim rights also exacerbates human trafficking.

Another important dimension is the demand and supply of trafficking victims, which may be of different types and commercial in nature, such as cheap bonded labour, prostitution, sex slavery, marriage, or early marriage due to poor female sex ratio. Thus, victims are transported from one country to another or from one region to another within a country. In the overall context, human trafficking is one of the most heinous acts of deprivation and violation of an individual’s human rights, compromising self-respect, dignity, and right to life.

Factors responsible   for illegal migration

Several factors are responsible for illegal immigration. These are the political, social, economic and environmental factors. Economic factors play a major role in triggering migration. People move in search of job opportunities for higher wages and better standard of living. All illegal immigration from Bangladesh falls under this category. All those illegally migrating from Bangladesh find an enabling environment inside India that helps them strengthen their tentacles. It is very easy to prepare fake Aadhaar, PAN, and voter ID to amalgamate with the local population.  Those entering solemnize marriages with Indian citizens upon entry to facilitate their permanent stay. The easy availability of a strong network of touts and agents to facilitate movement and settlement is also a luring factor. Enabling administrative system that ignores illegal migration under political duress is also a factor in illegal immigration. 

   Political instability leading to persecution and discrimination based on religion, and a lack of basic human rights forces people to migrate. Individuals try to move to regions and countries that they perceive as safer and have a stable political climate. Refugees and asylum seekers fall under this category. Since India is not a signatory to the UNHCR Convention on Refugees, all entering the country fall under the category of illegal immigrants. 

Environmental factors such as floods and droughts triggered by climate change leading to environmental and ecological degradation also drive people into illegal immigration, since environmental factors create economic distress, and populations seem to migrate to   countries that are environmentally better stabilized.  What is a better place than India for an already distressed population from Bangladesh or Myanmar? 

Security implications of illegal migration

Illegal migration affects all facets of a nation’s life. The negative consequences could be a change in the demographic profile, wherein immigrants, slowly occupy the local space, outnumber indigenous people. This disturbs societal harmony, as illegal migrants put undue strain on local resources eat into the local job market, creating unemployment leading to law-and-order problems compromising internal and external security.  Many illegal immigrants may be involved in fomenting insurgency and terrorism.  Probable security implications are as follows:-

Demographic upheaval–Unchecked illegal immigration may create demographic upheaval leading to security and societal issues affecting peace and development. For example, a clear surge in the Muslim population was visible in the 2011 census of the bordering areas of West Bengal and Assam.[5] This leads to unemployment, a forcible occupation of government land, impacts socio-economic and socio-political stability. It increases the probability of human trafficking, especially for women and children.

Societal Upheaval-Illegal migrants, in addition to occupying local space are strain on resources affecting indigenous people. This leads to cultural tensions and economic inequalities within destination regions, and creates distress among local population, leading to tension between locals and migrants, thus leading to law-and-order problems that disturb peace and development.

Security upheaval- Illegal immigration is challenge to the sanctity of borders, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Majority illegal crossings are through land borders. Migrants also have radicalized individuals affiliated with terrorist or insurgent groups, affecting internal and external security. Large-scale migration leads to societal tensions that turn into security concerns in the short and long run. Thus, illegal immigration is a major security concern for external and internal security. 

How to Check Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration and human smuggling are major concerns that affect nations’ security and standing as emerging regional powers in the Global South.  In the Indian context, illegal immigration is from contiguous neighbours into India, and human smuggling from India to the western world needs scrutiny. Following measures are suggested to tame illegal immigration and human smuggling: -

Strengthen Border guarding along Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Myanmar border: -In order to effectively check illegal immigration from Bangladesh, need to plug gaps, shift population residing ahead of fence and fence all feasible gaps and ensure strict vigil along riverine patches. Those caught infiltrating need to be pushed back immediately, instead of indulging in the long legal procedure of police and courts. Revisit non- lethal tactics and strategy which may be causatic factors in stirring illegal immigration from Bangladesh. Similarly, there is an urgent need to strengthen border guarding along the Indo-Myanmar border, which is open with easy cross-border accessibility. Unless the Assam Rifles stages forward and border fenced, illegal immigration from Myanmar may continue. Do not resort to arrest, resort to pushback.

Strengthen Immigration Mechanism: - All states and the Union government need to carry out an assessment of states from where illegal human smuggling is taking place to Western countries, including the USA. Based on this study, stricter immigration controls are needed at airports to identify fake and suspicious documents and detain such persons at the port of embarkation instead of allowing them to fall into the dark net of the dunkee route. States must adopt strict norms to regulate the grant of licences to travel agents.  Unless proactive steps are taken, the nation may not be able to control human smuggling. 

Human trafficking and illegal immigration are part of an interconnected web that requires joint effort to curb at the state and union levels involving border guarding forces, immigration authorities, state police, and the Ministry of External Affairs. Unless all stakeholders come under one umbrella and work in close coordination with each other, the scourge of illegal immigration may continue, thus causing chinks in external and internal security and affecting India’s global standing. 

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[1] Pushpita Das, Illegal Migration From Bangladesh Deportation, Border Fences and Work Permits 22 (2016).

[2] Id.

[3] Das, supra note 1, at 21.

[4] Das, supra note 1, at 22.

[5] Das, supra note 1, at 21.