Overstaying Pinoys in Israel fear deportation

As the Israeli government continues the crackdown on undocumented migrants, overstaying Filipinos in that country fear they may be deported anytime including at least 1,200 children. In a statement, migrants’ rights group Migrante-Middle East said demonstrators, including migrant advocates and non-government organizations, gathered in the country’s second largest city Tel Aviv on May 25 to protest what they deemed as disrespect for the rights of migrants and their families. “An overseas Filipino worker, who requested not to be named, told me that since July 2009, the Israeli government through its Interior Ministry office has initiated a crackdown on undocumented migrant workers, including refugees and asylum seekers, in some of the most depressed areas in Israel such as north of Hadera and southern part of Gedera," said Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona. Monterona said the Israeli government ceased implementing its 2006 policy of awarding Israeli citizenship to undocumented migrants, with only about 400 to 500 children and their families given recognition. “With such reversal of policy, many undocumented migrant workers will be deported including their own children and even their entire families," he disclosed. Monterona urged the Philippine Embassy in Israel to represent migrant Filipinos in Israel and work for their legalization. An embassy official, who requested anonymity in a telephone interview with GMANews.TV, confirmed the crackdown saying it is being implemented in the last few years now. While the official was unable to give exact numbers, he said several thousand Filipinos have been deported by Israel as a result of its policy in the last five years. “There are many undocumented Filipino workers here because when their contracts of employment end they refuse to go home and try looking for another job, which should not be the case," the official said in Filipino. According to him, some 10,000 of 40,000 Filipinos in Israel are undocumented. “We are trying very hard to document them but once their contracts expire, they go into hiding. They won’t go out, not even to renew their passports, because they could be arrested by local authorities anytime," the official explained. He also cited the Israeli government’s sovereignty which limits what the Philippine post can do on behalf of arrested, undocumented Filipinos. “We can only ask who were arrested and see to it that they are treated properly," he said. Some of those who had been arrested agree to deportation, while those who resist may hire lawyers and secure a court order to stop their deportation. Migrante is thus challenging the incoming administration of president-apparent Sen. Benigno Aquino III to address issues hounding Filipinos around the world. “This is another concern of OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] we put forward to the incoming Aquino administration. Aside from the numerous cases of OFWs languishing in jail and on death row, and numerous cases of maltreatment and abuses, it should also work for the legalization of many undocumented overseas Filipinos around the world," Monterona said. —VS, GMANews.TV