How Will Children of Detained Foreigners Be Protected: Karnataka HC Asks Govt.

Source – thewire.in

New Delhi: The Karnataka high court on Thursday asked the state government how children of alleged undocumented immigrants will be protected if their parents are detained.

Hearing the bail plea of an alleged undocumented Bangladeshi immigrant and his daughter, the single-judge bench of Justice K.N. Phaneendra asked what would happen if kids are separated from parents.

An advocate representing alleged undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh, arrested in September 2018, told the court that two young children of a woman, arrested near rural Bengaluru, were housed at a children’s home, according to the Indian Express. He said they had been separated from their imprisoned mother for more than a year now.

Justice Phaneendra, then asked, “Grown-up children will be okay, but what if children are small, and what happens if their education is affected? Can the state do something?”

According to reports, he observed, “Children are children even if they are children of illegal immigrants. What is the international convention we have to see and also what can be done.”

“If the child is a minor, they can be allowed to be kept with their parents. But what if he/she is not and the parents don’t have the capacity to take their care, outside the detention centre. What is the fate of such children? The state will have to make arrangements. If there is no solution, we will have to pass directions,” Justice Phaneendra said, according to LiveLaw.

The high court is hearing bail applications filed by alleged Bangladeshi nationals who have been arrested for staying illegally in the state, under the Foreigners Act. During a previous hearing, the government had informed the court that 58 foreign nationals residing in the country illegally are being deported.

Responding to the judge’s questions, assistant solicitor general C. Shashikantha informed the court that once detention centres are established in the state, all children will be housed with their parents. The first detention centre, near Bengaluru, will be established in early-2020, he said.

The court asked the government to file its response by December 4.

Justice Phaneendra also asked the state to ensure that alleged undocumented immigrants are held at detention centres established as per international convention and not in prisons.

The court also told the state government that deportation process of a person accused of being an illegal immigrant must begin soon as an FIR is registered.

“Once FIR is registered and the person is arrested under the Foreigners Act, then the process of deportation should begin immediately. The notification says mere registration of FIR can start the process,’’ the court said. “Once Foreigners Act is invoked by the police, the deportation process must start irrespective of outcome of the case. If secured, they (alleged illegal immigrant) should be brought to court and they should be put in detention centres,” he said, according to the Indian Express.

Last week, Justice Phaneendra asked the state government to spell out its plan for detaining ‘illegal immigrants’ in the state. The court asked the government to file an affidavit with details of detention centres in the state and plans to detain immigrants who do not have the required paperwork. The state government responded by saying that 35 detention centres are being established across Karnataka.