2012-06-08

Israel deports illegal infiltrators; immigration is on the wane

Anti-immigration sentiment has swelled in Israel and spilled over into government deportations and mob violence.
Netanyahu orders swift deportation of 25,000 illegal African migrants
Speaking at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that while it is not possible to expel citizens of Eritrea and Sudan, whose lives would be at risk in their home countries, holding facilities for them must be built in the Negev as quickly as possible.

A senior Israeli official said that two different groups of migrants were presented during Sunday's cabinet debate. The first was migrants from countries with which Israel has diplomatic relations, and with regard to whom there is no barrier to repatriating them under international law, he said. This group numbers some 25,000 of the approximately 60,000 African migrants now in Israel.

The second group comprises migrants from Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia, who cannot be repatriated because their lives would be at risk, according to the official. This group comprises some 35,000 people.

...The Foreign Ministry also said that over the past five years it has approached third countries to ascertain whether any of them would be willing to accept refugees from Eritrea or Sudan. Israeli diplomats were in touch with 30 African countries and 10 Western countries but were categorically refused.
The migrants who cannot be deported are to be housed in a desert facility.

Jerusalem apartment housing migrants firebombed
An apartment housing 10 Eritreans has been firebombed in Jerusalem, against the backdrop of rising anti-migrant sentiment in Israel.

Four of the occupants were taken to hospital suffering burns and smoke inhalation. Graffiti sprayed on the walls of the building said: "Get out of the neighbourhood."

The Jerusalem fire department and police said arson was indicated. "This looks like an arson attempt on an apartment which housed Eritrean migrants. The police [are] treating this all due seriousness and will employ all means at its disposal to apprehend those responsible," said a police statement.

The attack in the early hours of Monday morning follows a series of firebombings in southern Tel Aviv – an area in which African migrants are concentrated – including apartments and a kindergarten. Shops run by or serving migrants were smashed up and looted in a violent demonstration last month, in which Africans were attacked.
Israelis and Jewish people generally have been more pro-immigration and anti-deportation because of Jewish history. However, every society succumbs to social mood. Israel's actions may have some impact on the United States as well because many Jewish Americans also live or have relatives in Israel.

Peter Beinart looks at the issue in What Gives on American Jews and Immigration?
In other news we already knew, American Jews are wildly liberal when it comes to sex. They overwhelmingly support gay marriage and abortion rights. They’re a lot less enthusiastic about immigration. A slight plurality opposes “the U.S. government making it possible for illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens.” On immigration, in fact, American Jews are slightly to the American Jewish leadership’s right. I think Steven M. Cohen, who conducted the poll with Samuel Abrams, has noticed this waning Jewish support for immigration before. It’s intriguing, and depressing, given that many Jews still valorize their Ellis Island roots.

Not quite sure what explains this. I’d suspect that anti-immigrant sentiment is highest near the border and among the Anglo working class, since such populations most often compete with immigrants for services and jobs. But Jews aren’t well represented in either cohort.
The United States is the least likely nation in the West to deport its illegal migrants, but if social mood gets as negative as forecast by Prechter, even the U.S. will have mass deportations. Even large pluralities and sometimes majorities of Hispanics in America favor tighter border controls and immigration restrictions. As Beinart notes when looking at Jewish opinion, open-borders is really an elite opinion in America and well out of touch with the opinion on the ground. If it were put to a vote today, the U.S. would probably come close, if not vote in favor of, deporting all illegal immigrants. At this point, it's just a matter of how long the elite can hang on to political control. As Wisconsin showed, once a popular policy is implemented, decades long trends can be ended quickly, therefore it's about not letting any politician implement a popular policy, which is why the Obama administration has fought so hard against state level immigration or voter ID laws (mainly intended to keep illegal immigrants from voting and to reduce voter fraud) such as in Alabama, South Carolina and Arizona.

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