Following Tel Aviv riots, new bill seeks expel infiltrators, limit illegal immigration

Knesset Member Rothman is set propose the bill at the next Knesset session

Knesset Member Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party on Sunday announced his intention to advance a bill that would limit non-Jewish immigration to Israel and make it easier to expel illegal migrants.

This comes after violent clashes between Eritrean asylum seekers, most of them illegal migrants, resulted in at least 160 people injured, including 40 Israeli police officers, while devastating streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

Rothman, the chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, said he would advance a proposal for a law called ‘Basic Law: Entry, Immigration and Status in Israel’ at the beginning of the Knesset's winter session.

According to the text of the bill, “The purpose of this Basic Law is... to guarantee an immigration policy that will protect the unique right to self-determination of the Jewish people in the State of Israel and preserve the sovereignty and security of the State of Israel.”

The bill will allow the Jewish state to set an annual quota for refugees who would be given legal status in Israel and automatically block any individual from receiving refugee status if they enter or remain in the country illegally. Such persons could then also be deported, according to the bill.

In addition, those who are not able to be deported, for example, if their home country is considered unsafe, could be subjected to heavy restrictions, including limiting their movement and confiscating their funds until they agree to leave Israel for another safe country.

Between 2014 and 2017, Israel sent thousands of illegal immigrants to Rwanda and Uganda, with the immigrants receiving $3,500 to voluntarily leave the country.

Rothman seeks to protect the law from judicial review by the High Court, even adding a clause to prevent persons who aren’t Israeli citizens or residents from applying to the court regarding entry into Israel unless the court determines they are entitled to legal status according to law.

“The events of last Shabbat only strengthened the need for rapid advancement of the solutions to remove the infiltrators from Israel,” Rothman said.

“I call on all the Zionist factions in the Knesset for whom the Jewish and democratic identity of the State of Israel is important to join and support the bill.”

A similar bill was proposed under the previous government but was rejected by the Supreme Court, which may reportedly be the reason Rothman now seeks to pass the bill as a Basic Law, which currently functions as a quasi-constitution in Israel, due to the lack of a written constitution.

To date, Israel's High Court has not rejected a Basic Law, however, it has issued a temporary injunction against the Incapacitation Law and threatens to cancel it completely.