Israel's 'illegal' children

As the state took aim at Israel's 250,000 illegal labourers, 1,200 children were marked for expulsion along with their parents. The move, a sudden reversal of Israel's long-standing policy against deporting minors, sparked public outrage. Protests and media scrutiny delayed the deportations but only temporarily.
...
But, in fact, many of the women became illegal simply because they gave birth in Israel. State policy forbids migrant workers from having children in the country. If a woman does, she must send her newborn home. If she keeps her baby in Israel, she loses her work visa. Romantic relationships are also forbidden for foreign workers. In June, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on the story of Charlene Ramos, a Filipina caregiver with employment and a valid work visa, who faces deportation because she married another migrant labourer.
...
"They don't even speak Tagalog," she adds. A majority of the children face deportation to the Philippines, a place most have never seen. Assimilation is not the only argument offered by the children's supporters. Some point to Jewish religious texts that prohibit the mistreatment of foreigners. Others say that the persecution suffered during the Holocaust bequeathed Jews with a unique responsibility to protect other minority groups.

But Yishai, head of the conservative Shas Party popular with Orthodox Jewish Israelis, has spent the past year defending his decision to expel the children. He calls the children a threat to the Jewish character of the state. He has also remarked that migrant workers bring a "profusion of diseases" to the country.

More at http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/07/2010714111858399669.html