A new bill would allow the interior minister to deport migrants whose refugee requests have been denied, as long as he consults on the matter with the foreign minister.
The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Sharren Haskel, states that if an illegal migrant has sought refugee status in Israel because of a state of war in his country but that war ends, the request will be denied and, after the interior and foreign ministers confer, the migrant can be deported back to his country.
"Over the past decade, tens of thousands of labor migrants, many of them Eritrean, have infiltrated Israel and are seeking refugee status," the bill's abstract states.
"We recently learned that Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace agreement that brings the war between them to an end. This may enable the interior minister, whose office is responsible for setting Israel's immigration policy, to send these asylum seekers back to their country. "
Population and Immigration Authority data shows that there are currently 35,000 illegal migrants in Israel, around 25,000 of them, or 72%, from Eritrea. There are also 7,250 illegal migrants from Sudan, 2,400 from other African countries and 470 from elsewhere.
Most illegal Eritrean migrants stay in Israel between six and 11 years . As of July 2018, 1,115 had left Israel voluntarily.
Haskel told Israel Hayom that her bill holds "the key to solving the illegal migrant problem. Israel cannot contain tens of thousands of illegal migrants in its borders, and it is this illegal presence that encourages others to come here.
"The peace agreement signed in Eritrea paved the way for these tens of thousands of illegal migrant to return to their country, where they no longer face mortal danger," she said.
