Supreme Court ruling issued on migrant workers
Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the State must provide migrant workers and their children who are candidates for deportation with adequate time to prepare for the pre-deportation hearing and receive proper legal representation.
Justices Uzi Polgman, David Mintz and Yosef Elron criticized the Population Authority’s practice of arresting migrant workers and deciding on their deportation within hours. This follows a request for an appeal against the refusal of the Tel Aviv Court of Appeals to postpone a hearing scheduled for the family of migrant workers.
In the ruling given on Thursday, the judges wrote: “Given the potential harm to minors as a result of their removal, it must be ensured that before a decision is made on their case they and their parents are given an adequate opportunity to voice their decision before presenting and presenting appropriate factual infrastructure.”
Managing Partner of Tadmor Levy & Co., David Tadmor, whose team continues to represent the children in their fight against deportation and, more importantly, for equality, said, in response to the ruling: “The Supreme Court in this decision put an end to the wrong practice by the Population and Immigration Authority to ‘pick up’ children born and raised in Israel, and their parents, and try to deport them imminently from Israel without a proper hearing and without legal representation.”
Much of Tadmor Levy’s focus in the pro bono arena has been on the plight of the children of migrant workers, a longstanding battle that focuses on their human right to remain in Israel, the only country they know as home.
The firm also provides ongoing counsel to numerous not-for-profit organizations such as the Noga Center for the Representation of Victims of Crime, Ono Academic College, “Tebeka”- The Israeli Association for Ethiopian Jews, the Israel Women’s League, and mentoring school students in moot court competitions.
Its vast pro bono activity has been recognized by both Dun’s 100 and the Israel Bar Association.
