At a press briefing, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to bypass the Foreign Tribunals and instead empower District Commissioners (DCs) to declare and deport any “suspected foreigner” under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950. Under the SOP, once a DC receives a complaint against an individual, the person will have 10 days to prove their citizenship; if deemed unsatisfactory, they will be deported, regardless of inclusion in the NRC (National Register of Citizens).