Reports

The echo of Trumpist anti immigration

policy in Israel and Saudi Arabia

*Thembisa Fakude

21 February 2018

Al Jazeera Centre for Studies Tel: +974-40158384 jcforstudies@aljazeera.net http://studies.aljazeera.net

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Introduction

The debate on global immigration and the plight of refugees has dominated politics and

shaped electoral campaigns in several countries in recent times. Many right wing

organisations particularly in Europe continue to campaign under the banner of anti-

immigration. Marine Le Pen’ National Front in France is perhaps the most prominent

example in this regard in Europe. Le Pen has shown little tolerance of illegal immigrants,

she argues that illegal immigrants “have no reason to stay in France, these people broke

the law the minute they set foot on French soil". The president of the United States (US)

Donald Trump has also been very vocal in his resolve to restrict migration into the US. His

political rhetoric during his presidential campaign pivoted around building the wall in the

Southern boarder of the US with Mexico and banning Muslims from entering the US. Days

after his inauguration in January 2017 Donald Trump signed the Protecting the Nation

from Foreign Terrorist Entry executive order. The order is aimed at limiting people from

certain Muslim majority countries from entering the US. Subsequently Trump signed two

executive orders in this regard, the order directing the construction of a wall on the US-

Mexico border, boosting border patrol forces and increasing the number of immigration

enforcement officers who carry out deportations. The second order aims at stripping

sanctuary cities of federal grant funding and announced sweeping new criteria that could

make many more undocumented immigrants priorities for deportation (1). His

immigration politics have been criticized widely across the globe. Moreover inside the US

Donald Trump has been facing a barrage of criticisms including his intention of cancelling

the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program also known as DACA. The program

sraeli authorities rounded up dozens of African migrants slated for deportation, as the government weighs tough

penalties against Israelis who help illegal aliens. [activestills]

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allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors, and had either entered or

remained in the country illegally to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action

from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit. The stand - off on DACA last month

led to a three-day government shutdown.

The last visit of Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia and Israel has highlighted a new political

convergence between these countries. In September 2017 reports emerged that Saudi

Arabia was planning to “accept Israel as a brotherly state” (2). Furthermore the reported

visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman to Israel and the regular

visits of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son in law and senior advisor gives credence to that

argument. The visit has also arguably triggered and encouraged a number of actions in

Saudi Arabia and Israel, amongst those are the blockading of Qatar by the three Gulf

nations and Egypt, intensified attacks in Yemen and indeed cracking down on African

immigrants. Subsequently Saudi Arabia and Israel have over the past months engaged in

their own migration reforms. On 19 March 2017 the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry

launched a campaign dubbed ‘A Nation Without Violations’, to give residency and labour

law violators 90 days to leave the country without having to face penalties. According to

the campaign will likely lead to the exit of at least 1 million violators, saying this “would

revive the economies of companies and establishments and protect small businesses and

projects from illegal expats, while also reducing unemployment rates and creating a safe

economic and social environment (3). Similarly Israel's plan to forcibly expel African

asylum seekers has sparked anger, with protests planned worldwide in coming weeks.

This week, the Israeli government issued deportation notices to 20,000 male asylum

seekers, Reuters news agency reported, giving them 60 days to leave the country or face

indefinite detention (4). Human rights groups have criticized the manner in which both

these countries have been dealing with illegal migrants and have questioned the timing of

events in these countries. The international human rights organisation Human Rights

Watch has called on Israeli to abandon a new policy that could lead to the indefinite

detention of thousands of Eritreans and Sudanese nationals for refusing to leave Israel.

This paper argues that the timing and the political boldness demonstrated by both Israel

and Saudi Arabia in implementing their respective recent crackdown on illegal migrants

could have been influenced by Trump’s immigration politics.

Cracking down on African immigrants in Israel

Israel has been engaged in controversial immigration reforms over the years. The cracking

down on immigrants has invited widespread condemnation. What has caught the attention

of many human rights organisation is the willingness of Israel to violate some of its

international commitments regarding immigrants and refugees. There were 27,018

Eritreans and 7,731 Sudanese in Israel as of March 2017, according to the Population,

Immigration and Boarders Authority (PIBA). Since 2013 about 14000 have left Israel,

including as a result of government measures against asylum seekers involving prolonged

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or indefinite detention, which Israel’s High Court has twice ruled it unlawful (5). According

to Human Rights Watch detention is arbitrary under the International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights (ICCPR) if a country detains someone for deportation when there is no

realistic prospect of deporting them. Arbitrary indefinite detention may also constitute

inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of Israel’s obligations under the ICCPR and

the UN Convention Against Torture Israel is a signatory to the UN convention on refugees

which obligates it to make the asylum application process accessible. Israel owes it

existence and legitimacy at least to some, from providing refuge to the persecuted

European Jewry albeit at the expense of the Palestinians. After the establishment of Israel,

the country encouraged migration of the world global Jewry as it forged ahead with the

entrenchment of a Jewish state. Amongst those who migrated to Israel in the early days

were the Ethiopian Jews. There is an estimated 125 000 Ethiopian Jews who are citizens

of Israel. Many took advantage of the Law of Return which allows Jewish diaspora from

any nation a right of return to Israel. The migration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel has

encouraged other Africans especially those from the Horn of Africa to Israel as tales of a

better life in Israel spread. Israel has therefore over they years become a place of choice

and refuge for most migrants from the Horn of Africa. The influx of immigrants to Israel

was a huge public relations boon to the state which is compared to an “apartheid state”.

The influx amplified claims by Israel that it was indeed “the only thriving democracy in the

Middle East”. Several countries in the Horn of Africa are entangled in civil wars and the

economic situations have stagnated due to political instability and lack of foreign

investments. According to the Immigration and Population Authority of Israel, as of

February 2017 more than 22,000 asylum requests were awaiting processing, most of them

were from citizens of Ukraine, Georgia, Eritrea and Sudan (6). Israel has a lenient

immigration and refugee regime compared to many countries in the Middle East.

According to the international law Israel is prohibited from deporting Eritreans and

Sudanese. Many of the migrants are seeking asylum status under the United Nations

Convention Relation to the Status of Refugees. Under international law, Eritrea citizens

cannot be deported due to the opinion of the UNHCR that Eritrea has a difficult internal

situation and therefore the Eritrean immigrants are defined as a "temporary humanitarian

protection group". Regarding Sudanese migrants, Israeli law is unable to execute

deportation of Sudanese directly back to Sudan because Israel has no diplomatic ties to

Sudan.

Israel has undertaken to expelled over 35 000 African migrants in the next coming weeks.

Most of those targeted are Eritreans and Sudanese migrants who are currently in that

country illegally. The government has offered those who voluntarily leave the country a

plane ticket and 3500 USD in cash. The Population and Immigration Authority of Israel

has vowed to jail illegal migrants who refuse to leave (7). The economy has been slowing

down in Israel over the years. Furthermore the public outcry and complains about African

migrants has also put the Israel government under pressure. There are a number of

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Israelis who fear that uncontrolled migration will in future threaten the viability of a Jewish

state. That coupled with Palestinian expansion inside Israel has intensified the calls for

Israeli government to act swiftly in limiting the flow of migrants. The situation lays bare

a central tension for Israel, which has both a particular obligation to protect Jews and a

general responsibility to represent Jewish values to the world (8). The latest crackdown

on African migrants in Israel has led to wider criticism. It is not the first time Israel has

attracted the ire of the international community regarding its treatment of African

migrants. There are continued reports of racism and discrimination against Ethiopian

migrants and other Africans in Israel. In 1995 thousands of Ethiopian “Jews clashed with

the police in a protest over the news that blood they donated was secretly dumped because

of fear that it was contaminated with the virus that causes AIDS”. Israel is not the only

country in the region which has upped its immigration measures against Africans. Hundred

of illegal African particular Ethiopians migrants in Saudi Arabia are fearing deportation,

fines or even jail as Riyadh promises to crack down on illegal migrants.

Saudi Arabia expels thousands of Ethiopian migrants

Saudi Arabia has not endorsed any international treaty on human rights, migration and

refugees. It has as a result over the years managed to get away with a number of

violations. Over 9 million migrant workers fill manual, clerical, and service jobs, this

constitute more than half the workforce in Saudi Arabia. Some employers illegally

confiscate passports, withhold wages, and force migrants to work against their will (9).

The targeting of Ethiopian migrants was intensified by the political disagreement between

Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia on the blockade against Qatar. Qatar, United Arab Emirates

(UAE), Bahrain and Egypt are leading a socio-economic and political blockade against the

state of Qatar. Ethiopia refused to support the blockade when it was approached by Saudi

Arabia during the Africa Union (AU) meeting in Addis Ababa in 2017. According to Sheik

Mohammed bin Abdurrahman the Foreign Minister of Qatar “the four countries mobilised

all of their officials on the continent at the beginning of the blockade to pressure African

states to adopt the same measures as them". Ethiopians have been migrating to Saudi

Arabia for a very long time. The immigration of Ethiopians to Saudi Arabia could be traced

to the advent of Islam, geographical proximity and the historical pursuit of business

opportunities. Ethiopians were welcomed to Saudi Arabia during the economic boom,

however over the years things have changed. Life in Saudi Arabia has become difficult for

Ethiopians and African immigrants in general. The expulsion of Ethiopian “illegal

immigrants” is not new in Saudi Arabia, however under Bin Salman the situation has gotten

worse. Since March 2017, 70,000 illegal Ethiopian migrants have been expelled from the

Gulf kingdom as it seeks to reduce its reliance on millions of migrant laborers (10). The

introduction of Vision 2030, an ambitious socio-economic development plan has led to a

number of changes in the country. Vision 2030 aims at amongst others driving Saudis

particularly its youth and women into active economic participation by 2030. Therefore in

order to realize that objective something had to be done to reduce the number of African

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immigrants and reliance on African immigrants to perform menial work as earlier stated.

The population of Saudi Arabia is estimated at 27 million Saudis, 19.11% are between the

age of 15 and 24. Besides challenges presented by Vision 2030 the plight of African

migrants was exacerbated by other socio-political factors. There has been an increase in

cases of maltreatment and racism against Africans in Saudi Arabia. In April 2015 a young

Saudi boy posted a selfie mocking an African migrant girl picking through rubbish in

Jeddah. The video which should have ordinarily invited a blanket condemnation, actually

received a mixed reactions in the social media. What the video communicated and its

subsequent reaction in the social media was the prevailing attitude towards the African

immigrants in that country.

Conclusion

Trump’s polarizing rhetoric, impunity and rashness in tackling immigration reform in the

US and intensified synchronization of similar actions in Israel and Saudi Arabia are not

coincidental but suspicious. Trump’s position on immigration has presented opportunities

for both countries particularly Israel to deal with their own migration challenges. Back in

2016, his opponents scoffed at the feasibility of building a wall along the southern boarder

of the U.S. When was asked about it by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto Trump was

ready for the question. "Look at Israel," was his response, "Bibi Netanyahu told me the

wall works." (11). Human Right Watch worries that many thousands of Ethiopians who

should have refugee protection in Saudi Arabia could be forcibly returned home to face

the persecution they fled (12). In 2016 thousands of Indian migrant labors were left

without pay and accommodation for months when Saudi Oger, a company owned by

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was in financial difficulties. Israel on the other hand

seems determined to ignore its international commitment in dealing with its own migration

challenges. Despite the restrictiveness of Israel’s migration ideology and policy, the

phenomenon of labor migration emerged relatively quickly but without garnering

substantial opposition (13). In conclusion, the US continues to be a political compass for

both Saudi Arabia and Israel, it has an overwhelming influence in the politics of both

countries. Under Trump Israel and Saudi Arabia seem to have found a new ally after years

of an unwilling president Barak Obama. It is therefore not farfetched to assume that

whenever a political opportunity appears as a consequence of Trump’s politics, both these

countries will use that to justify and give legitimacy to their own actions. The cracking

down on African migrants in these countries is a perfect demonstration.

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* Thembisa Fakude is the head of Research Relations at Al Jazeera Centre for Studies.

References

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