Non-Refoulement

IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION POLICIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH FOCUS ON INDIA Pratibha Tewatia, B.A. LLB. (H), 7th Semester, Student at Amity University, Gurugram, Haryana (India) Sanya Singh, B.A. LLB. (H), 7th Semester, Student at Amity University, Gurugram, Haryana (India) Tanvi Jain, B.A. LLB. (H), 7th Semester, Student at Amity University, Gurugram, Haryana (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.216 Growing movement across borders increasingly tests national laws aiming to uphold government authority while meeting global duties to protect people. India, notable for sending many abroad yet also receiving large numbers, faces challenges as its outdated rules fail to match modern patterns of forced or voluntary relocation. Whether present policies secure basic freedoms for those crossing into the nation – be they asylum seekers, displaced individuals without citizenship, or laborers – is explored here through local judicial principles alongside worldwide standards. Beginning with India’s present framework under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, while situating the Foreigners Act, 1946 and related predecessor laws in their repealed historical context, the analysis then turns to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and safeguards embedded within Article 21 of the Constitution. Instead of general assumptions, examination follows structure found across U.S., Canadian, and EU immigration models, then extends into policies practiced by several Middle Eastern nations. Rather than isolated rulings, judgments issued by India’s highest court align beside findings from global judicial bodies. Following this path, benchmarks originate in the 1951 Refugee Convention, tied further to foundational agreements drafted under UN authority on human rights. The results indicate that India’s laws on migration carry deep-rooted flaws – such as rules frozen in time, uneven application across regions, and shifting conditions for staying – which place at greater risk communities like the Rohingya along with people without legal status. Although key decisions by the Supreme Court have applied constitutional safeguards under Article 21 even to foreigners, hurdles built into processes still weaken actual ability to claim these protections. This work suggests fragmented court actions fail to address core issues; instead, coherence may emerge through legislation matching national policies to global human rights standards. A single legal structure could reflect such alignment more effectively than scattered rulings.