Deportation looms for Pinoy family in Israel
Posted at 08/14/2009 7:52 PM | Updated as of 08/14/2009 7:52 PM
A Filipino family whose son was born and raised in Israel is now facing the threat of deportation for illegally staying in the country.
According to the Global News Service of the Jewish People, Rabbi Eliazar Cruz, 11, could only speak Hebrew and has never traveled to his parent's Homeland.
Cruz, the report said, is among an estimated 1,100 children of foreign workers without work permits in Israel.
His parents entered Israel legally as caretakers for elderly clients. However, they overstayed their visas.
The report added that the government's plan to deport children and their migrant families in late July was delayed due to pressures from the public, local human rights groups and even President Shimon Peres.
John Gal, professor of social work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem said that while Israel encouraged foreign workers to work in the country, the government has no "contingency for them staying and raising families here."
The report also cited Sabine Hadad, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry who said that the "law needs to be applied."
Israel's foreign workers mostly come from the Philippines, Thailand, Colombia, China and Africa.
The Interior Ministry said that there are some 300,000 illegal migrants and about 70,700 legal foreign workers in Israel.
Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar is drafting legislation that would prevent the deportation and imprisonment of minors aged 3 to 18, along with their parents and siblings, the report said.
Sa’ar also proposes outlining conditions in which permanent-resident status can be granted to children integrated into Israeli life.
The deportation case in Israel is similar to the immigration issue faced before by a Filipino couple who illegally stayed in Japan.
Arlan Cruz Calderon and his wife Sarah were deported last April for coming to Japan using false passports. Their Japan-born daughter was left in the care of relatives in Japan after the Japanese government ruled that the girl could stay and finish her studies in Japan.
Their daughter could only speak Japanese and attends a local Japanese school.
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