After more than 20 years in Israel and with a son born in the country, Arliza Garcia Debo, a migrant from the Philippines, is set to be deported by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.
A hearing was held on Tuesday at the Detention Review Tribunal, during which Population and Immigration Authority representative Tzvika Yemini confirmed that a flight to the Philippines has already been arranged for Arliza. In such a case, the Detention Review Tribunal has no authority over her deportation.
Attorney Neta Mishli from the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants told Yemini: "Does it seem reasonable to you to deport Dan's mother without giving him a chance to say goodbye?" Yemini replied, "He can say goodbye to her at Ben Gurion Airport, but we can't promise we won't detain him as well." The Hotline intends to appeal Arliza's deportation order.
Her son, Dan Israel Debo, 18, a high school senior who was born and raised in Israel, will be left alone.
"I was at a work week preparing for the summer camp of the Scouts when I was told my mother had disappeared," Dan wrote in a letter to the court. "I was born here, and my mother has raised me here all my life, alone. It's hard for me to even think about her being in prison; I can't imagine myself without my mother here in Israel."
Arliza arrived in Israel with her sister over two decades ago as a migrant worker, initially working in caregiving. After Dan was born, she worked in cleaning and as a children's caregiver. She has never been arrested or detained before.
"A woman who has worked here for over 20 years poses no burden on anyone," said Shira Abo, head of the Public Department at the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. "She is needed – especially when Israel is looking to import 300,000 foreign workers to fill positions she can work in. If the Israeli economy needs these people so much, let's treat them as human beings, not just as labor."
Dan is torn between his mother's deportation back to the Philippines and his love and connection to his homeland. "For me, Israel is the Scouts' hikes, the environment, the landscape and the people," he wrote in his letter. "It's that desire to participate, talking with my first friend who enlisted about the soldiers, their roles, and what it's like to be in the army. I feel just as connected as they do, and I hope one day to enlist in the IDF. I am Israeli too," Dan wrote.
In early June, the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, along with UCI, approached Interior Minister Moshe Arbel on behalf of 77 high school students who are also facing deportation.
"These are children born here to migrant workers, individuals whom the State of Israel invited to care for our elderly and disabled," the Hotline explained. "Minister Arbel has yet to respond to our appeal, while immigration inspectors have taken action, arresting and moving to deport the mother of one of the children involved in the appeal – Dan Israel Debo."
The Population and Immigration Authority responded: "Ms. Arliza Garcia is a Filipino citizen who entered Israel in 2003 on a work visa. Her visa expired in 2006, and since then, she has been in Israel without a valid permit, in violation of the law. Her son, born in 2006, is now 18 years old, and his father has returned to live in the Philippines. He, too, is an illegal resident in Israel. Additionally, Ms. Garcia has two other children in the Philippines. Given these circumstances, and the fact that she has been illegally residing in Israel for many years, a deportation order has been issued, and she must return to her family."