Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Congressional Black Caucus Urges Israel Not To Deport African Migrants

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Congressional Black Caucus is urging Israel’s government to end a plan that forces some 40,000 African migrants in the country to choose between deportation and jail.

Under the Israeli plan, migrants face a choice between jail and deportation later, or deportation now with cash incentives and free airfare. Until now, most of the migrants who have declined deportation have been free to live and work in Israel, albeit while facing some discriminatory policies.

Instead, the caucus urges Israel to adopt the position proposed by advocates for the migrants and to funnel them through existing international refugee processing systems to third countries. A number of Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and HIAS, have made similar recommendations.

Israeli officials are wary of the more formal process, which can take years.

“As a close friend of the United States and a vital regional ally, Israel is a beacon of democracy and good governance in the Middle East,” the letter says. “Given such a discouraging state of affairs, we seek to mitigate a potential humanitarian crisis.”

The letter takes into account Israeli concerns that some of the migrants may be seeking employment and not refuge, as well as the national security concerns presented by the arrival of undocumented migrants. It also notes that the migrants are “primarily from Eritrea and Sudan, countries characterized by political instability and violence” and that many were “victims of kidnapping, torture, and sexual violence.”

But it says that the proposal currently in place, which would send the migrants to an unnamed African country with a payment of $3,500 along with free airfare and other incentives, presents dangers to the migrants.

Haaretz reported that 15 of 49 members of the Congressional Black Caucus have signed the letter, including some who over the years have taken a lead in advancing pro-Israel policies, among them Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Reps. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.