"Israel Has Been Nicer Than is Legally Obliged," Says Immigration Expert as 1,200 Are Set to be Released

Jerusalem, 8 September, 2015 (TPS) -- A High Court Ruling taken earlier this month has culminated in the release of 1,200 illegal immigrants from various areas in Africa.

The decision, which was taken on the grounds that the Law for Prevention of Infiltration was too harsh, further decreed that the authorities could detain the refugees for no more than 12 months.

The decision included limiting the areas in which the asylum seekers are able to enter. They are not permitted, for example, to enter Tel Aviv or Eilat, the former containing a high concentration of such illegals.

According to Interior Minister, Silvan Shalom, breaching such terms could lead to imprisonment. However, one resident of Tel Aviv named Rafi who asked that his surname remain anonymous, living close to the central bus station, a location conspicuous for its infiltrator presence, voiced reservations to Tazpit about the precautions.

“They know they can’t be punished because they have no documentation. Even if they do the police know it is easier not to bother them.”

He added that “I once saw one of them stealing a bike. When I ran to get the police they just said they can’t do anything. They didn’t even come to help.”

Despite such fears, Tzvi Kantor, CEO at Kan-tor & Acco Global Corporate and Immigration Law Firm in Ramat Gan, offered comments to the contrary. “The restrictions of these kinds placed on immigrants are actually not new. They are actually easy to enforce because the immigrants have documents which say they are only permitted to work in certain areas. If an Israeli is caught employing them in a forbidden area, they are liable.”

While Kantor stressed that they need to continue to be treated with the respect of all human beings, he pointed out to Tazpit that “they came here illegally and we don’t owe them anything legally. We treated the immigrants in a far nicer way than we needed.”

He added that “they are not even refugees by international standards because Israel is not the first country they came to. Ninety five per cent of their refugee applications were denied even by the UN because they don’t meet the criteria of ‘first country’ laws. They are actually refugees of countries like Egypt which was their first country of arrival.”

Humanitarian concerns facing the immigrants upon return to their countries of origin were rebuffed by Kantor who cited a recent report published in the UK and Denmark that this dilemma bears less relevance since the concept of “Group Protection,” which states that if an individual cannot prove that his life is in danger but can prove that his people are generally in danger, then he cannot be legitimately deported. But the report has concluded that this is not the case for many immigrants in their respective countries.” He suggested that this is also not the case for the infiltrators in Israel.

Notwithstanding legal considerations, the High Court ruling raises fears about the potential surge in crime rates should the released detainees indeed make it to Tel Aviv.

On this note, Rafi told Tazpit that “on Menachem Begin Street, they walk around mugging people and walk around with bats. Nothing is done at all. I know of stories that didn’t make the news because they didn’t want riots again.”

In May 2012, many asylum seekers were injured in Tel Aviv during demonstrations against an estimated arrival of 60,000 illegal immigrants. The crowds were addressed by leaders such as Miri Regev and Danny Dannon of the Likud party.