The SUN HK : Filipinos among those being repatriated at faster rate

By Daisy CL Mandap

Immigration has stepped up repatriation since the last quarter of last year

The Immigration Department has continued the repatriation of non-residents who have either served their sentences for various offences like overstaying their visas or taking illegal employment, or have failed in their bid to resist being sent home.

Among those being sent back at a faster rate since the last quarter of 2022 are Filipinos, as can be gleaned from the spike in the number of one-way travel documents being issued by the Consulate on a regular basis.

Late on Tuesday, a group of about 10 Filipinas who had completed their sentences were taken to the Consulate by police officers so they could have their travel documents readied ahead of their being sent back to the Philippines.

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Consul Paul Saret, head of the assistance to nationals section, confirmed that there has been a marked increase in the number of Filipinos being sent home in recent months.

The big bulk of the repatriates involves those who failed to substantiate their claim against non-refoulement, or against being told to return to their home country because of alleged threats to their life.

But Consul Saret said they also include overstayers and other detainees who have already served their sentences.

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The uptick was the result of a major policy shift approved by legislators in December which allows authorities to immediately expel asylum seekers whose applications were rejected by Immigration even if they are still awaiting the outcome of their appeal.

This was what happened in the case of Brudencio J. Bolanos, who was sent back to the Philippines in October last year, five months before the Court of Appeal could decide on his case.

A further 1,100 are said to be facing the same fate in the near future. And if the trend continues, a big chunk of some 15,000 asylum seekers still in Hong Kong could also find themselves in the same boat.

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The claimants are asking to be relocated to a third country, as Hong Kong does not grant refugee status to asylum seekers. However, there is just a slim chance that they will succeed, as over 99% of the claims filed over the past decade have been rejected.

Previously, claimants were allowed to seek various remedies after failing to get the Immigration Department’s approval for them to stay and be processed for possible asylum in a third country.

First, they could seek remedy at the Torture Claims Appeal Board. If this also fails, they could file for leave for a judicial review at the High Court of the decision to deny them non-refoulement.

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If still unsuccessful, appellants can progressively launch legal challenges at various levels of court, all the way to the Final Court of Appeal.

The lenient but more universally accepted approach to handling the claims has led to courts being clogged with judicial review cases.

According to a report recently furnished to the Legislative Council, a total of 2,537 JR cases were pending before the Court of First Instance in 2021, or 60 times the number in 2014.

As they were previously allowed to stay before the completion of the appeal or judicial procedures, a total of 14,819 claimants were residing in Hong Kong at the end of 2021.

Among them, 64% were male and 36% were female, and included around 470 children under the age of 5.