"Illegal immigration is as much a data problem as a security problem." Examine this with reference to the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change.

In 2026 the Centre set up the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (HLCDC), chaired by Justice P.P. Navlekar (Retd.). It will study demographic change caused by illegal immigration and recommend a permanent mechanism to identify, detain and deport illegal immigrants [1]. Its first questionnaire to States shows that enforcement cannot work without reliable data.

Security dimension

• Border infiltration: The mandate covers cross-border activity and "abnormal settlement patterns" in sensitive districts [1].
• Enforcement goal: The committee's end product is a legal, fair and time-bound system to identify, detain and deport illegal immigrants [1].

Why it is equally a data problem

• Missing records: States could give religion-wise data only for birth registration and for migrants caught or deported. School, electoral and land records do not record religion [2].
• New surveys, not data-sharing: Mapping religious structures built over 15 years with GIS would need fresh field surveys in every district [2].
• No papers is not proof of foreign status: Flagging voters who lack "prior-generation birth certificates" hits poor rural citizens whose births were never registered [2].
• Wrong signals: A mismatch between school enrolment and past birth rates may simply reflect people moving for work. "Economic opportunity" is a cause the HLCDC itself must study [1].
• Deportation stalls: In 2019 Assam allowed conditional release of declared foreigners held in detention for over 3 years, because they could not be sent back [3].

Limits of a data-only approach

• Profiling risk: Sorting undocumented voters by religion raises concerns under Article 15 and the privacy right upheld in Puttaswamy (2017).
• Federal friction: The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 is a Union law [4], but police and holding centres are run by States. The Centre even had to ask States for a list of working detention centres [2].

Way forward

• Use Census data in aggregate form, since the Census Commissioner is a member [1], rather than building name-wise lists.
• Make use of the Act's rules requiring hotels, educational institutions and hospitals to report foreigners [4].
• Apply the DPDP Act, 2023 principles of purpose limitation and fixed retention periods.
• Build on the MHA's 2019 Model Detention Centre Manual [3] and set a national time limit on detention.

Illegal immigration is both a security threat and a data problem, and the HLCDC's experience shows the two cannot be separated. Accurate, purpose-limited, federally coordinated data would make enforcement both effective and constitutional, in line with the values of equality and dignity.