Immigration and Detention in Israel

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This report aims to be one of the first comprehensive reports that monitors the conditions of migrant detention centers in Israel. As the laws around detention have only grown stricter in recent years, it is not out of the realm of possibility that detention will continue to be a major tool in the Israeli government’s policy towards migrant-workers and asylum-seekers. As such, it is imperative that the public and NGOs have a clear picture of how the government is abiding to both national and international law when it comes to affording rights and maintaining conditions in detention. Equally as important is how the government maintains the use of detention vis-à-vis the process of applying for asylum and granting those requests.

At any given moment there are about 5,000 migrant workers and asylum seekers being detained in Israel, many of them are held for multiple months and even years. This report explains who is being detained in immigration detention centers, under which laws they are being detained, and most importantly the standards and conditions of their detention. The report describes the main concerns raised by detainees during 2015, which included: crowded housing and lack of freedom of movement, insufficient translation and medical services, sub-standard food, lack of clothing and hygienic products, pressure to leave the country during the Ministry of Interior’s hearings and lack of knowledge regarding the authority of the Ministry of Interior’s officers and the Administrative Review Tribunal responsibilities. The report ends with the HRM’s recommendations.