“With planned crackdown, Israel joins lineup of countries vicious to migrant workers”
Group calls to scrap policy on undocumented migrants and families

“Israel has joined the growing lineup of governments vicious to undocumented migrant workers and their families. Undocumented migrants are workers and not criminals and should be recognized as such.”

This was declared by Gi Estrada, program coordinator of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), as the group held a protest action in front of the Consulate of Israel in Hong Kong to protest the planned crackdown against undocumented migrants in said country. The action was co-organized with the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) and was attended by other HK-based organizations of migrant workers and advocates

Estrada said that Israel has jumped in the “bandwagon of anti-migrants states” like Italy, Malaysia, South Korea and Macau that are similarly implementing or planning to implement harsh actions against undocumented migrants.

“What these countries should instead do is follow the examples set by Belgium and Brazil who are now legalizing undocumented migrants. Migrants, whether undocumented or not, contribute to the countries they work in because of their labor and they should be recognized,” he stressed.

Originally, the plan also included deportation of children and families of undocumented migrants but due to protests, the government was forced to postpone it for the next three months.

“Still, the threat is clear and present. If children are allowed to stay but not their parents, it will place them in a traumatic situation of family separation. Such cruelty should not be condoned,” Estrada said.

The protesters also expressed their fear that the Israeli policy is but “a sneak peek of worse things to come as the European Union prepares to implement its Return Directive policy next year that will deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants from the region.”

This policy, Estrada relayed, will be the major focus of the 2nd International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR) to be held in November as parallel to the 3rd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Greece.

Estrada reported that the crackdown is planned to start this month though there were reports by migrant’s groups and NGOs in Israel that it has already started since July 1.

“It is unfair and unjust for the Israeli government to blame undocumented migrants for its unemployment problems. Migrant workers are not the cause of the crisis and yet they are forced to bear the brunt of its impacts,” Estrada added.

Currently, there is an estimated 280,000 undocumented migrant workers in Israel. This, Estrada reported, include thousands from Asian countries like the Philippines that has about 6,000 nationals.

Estrada hit the Israeli government for being hypocritical about migrant labor. “While the new policy fans xenophobia, Israel also shows its hypocrisy as it also continues to import foreign laborers,” he stated.

The group called for Israel to instead look seriously into the complaints of migrant workers including payment of up to US$20,000 to recruiters, underpayment of wages, illegal recruitment and easier ways to transfer to other jobs.

The protesters submitted a petition that listed down scrapping of the crackdown policy as one of the demands. Said petition was signed by different organizations and individuals from 15 countries and territories including those from Arab countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.

Lastly, Estrada also called for governments of migrant-sending countries to lobby the government of Israel against the said plan. “With their nationals in danger, they should not just sit back and let the migrants suffer,” he said.#