Law Would Allow State to Deport Illegal Migrants Who Commit a Crime

The Ministerial Law Committee on Sunday is set to take up a proposal by MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) that would allow the state to deport illegal African migrant workers who commit a crime. The deportation would require the approval of the Interior Minister. In a codicil to the proposal, Yogev wrote that the law was necessary, as “it is not enough that this person entered Israel illegally, but he also disdains the laws of the country and endangers its citizens.”

Yogev said that the law was in response to the ongoing refusal of the High Court to allow the state to remove illegal immigrants. “The state has failed to deport the infiltrators to their countries of origin,” he said. “The High Court has three times canceled laws passed by the Knesset on this matter, and the law to enable the Knesset to override High Court decisions is stuck. At the very least, let us deport the illegal migrants who fail to follow our laws and commit serious crimes.”

According to the legislation, illegal migrants convicted of a crime that would normally entail a prison sentence would be deported to their country of origin. In the event that the criminal truly cannot be deported to that country because of safety concerns, the state will find a third country to deport the individual to. “The safety of Israelis and the security of the country must be our top priority,” the legislation reads.

According to Yogev, “every day we see riots and street fights in south Tel Aviv, leaving residents trembling in fear. This law is a just one and reflects policy in many other advanced countries, where criminal action by illegal infiltrators is not tolerated. Here, too, we should have no tolerance for such behavior.”