The dramatic increase of African migrants voluntarily leaving Israel is attributed to new policies undertaken by Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar to curb illegal immigration, i.e. the implementation of detention centers, increasing law enforcement, and a transitional grant of $3,500 to each person choosing to leave.
The Population and Immigration Authority reported on Thursday a marked rise in the number of illegal immigrants requesting to leave Israel to return to Eritrea and Sudan.
Migrants depart for their home countries [Archive] – Photo courtesy: GPO
In December, 290 illegal infiltrators departed Israel by their own accord, compared to 63 in November.
In 2013, more than 1,850 illegal immigrants chose to leave Israel, much higher than the previous year’s count of 460. The rise in number of departures is attributed to actions taken by Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar to curb illegal immigration, including constructing detention centers, increasing law enforcement, and raising the monetary reward to those who choose to leave to $3,500 per person.
Meanwhile, the state requested that the High Court delay a set of appeals by human rights organizations to issue an interim order on the recently updated infiltration law. “The petitioners are asking the courts to prevent the state from being able to use tools necessary to deal with the harsh consequences of illegal immigration,” a government spokesperson said.
View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=14333
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