Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
IsThis

POLITICS

The Claim

As of May 6, 2026, illegal immigrants were leaving West Bengal, India, for other Indian states in significant numbers.

The Short Version

The evidence does not support this claim. Credible reports from early May 2026 describe alleged illegal Bangladeshi migrants being deported, pushed back, or trying to return from West Bengal to Bangladesh, not relocating in significant numbers to other Indian states. The internal-migration version rests on unverified social-media commentary and misreading of sources.

Caveats

  • The claim reverses the documented direction of movement: reported flows were toward Bangladesh, not to other Indian states.
  • Its key support comes from unverified social-media material rather than independent reporting or official data.
  • The phrase "significant numbers" is unsupported for interstate movement; available counts refer to deportations or departures toward Bangladesh.

The Receipts

  1. India: Ethnic Bengalis Unlawfully Expelled

    Human Rights Watch

  2. India's Bengal pushes out Muslim Bangladeshis, deepening religious tensions

    Al Jazeera

  3. Migrants try to flee to Bangladesh fearing India crackdown

    France 24

  4. Video: Illegal migrants flock border to return as Bengal ...

    India Today

  5. India Deports Nearly 5000 Illegal Bangladeshis

    Firstpost (via Facebook video)

  6. India on Thursday (May 7, 2026) called for Bangladesh's cooperation over repatriation of illegal immigrants in India

    Instagram (news clip quoting Indian officials)

  7. India: West Bengal deportations raise human rights concerns

    DW

  8. Today, May 5, 2026, the India-Bangladesh border is ...

    Instagram (news reel)

  9. India orders migrant detention centres sparking explusion fears

    France 24

  10. Official Spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaiswal on India-Bangladesh border and illegal migration (Weekly Media Briefing: June 05, 2026)

    Ministry of External Affairs, India (Facebook)

+ 15 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

IndiaWest Bengal

More Fact Checks