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THE DOUBLE LIFE OF TEMPORARY PROTECTION
The Israeli Asylum SystemThe Academic Center of Law and Business (Tel Aviv, Israel)
November 2012
Michael KaganUniversity of Nevada, Las VegasBoyd School of Law
TP in Israel, TP elsewhereIsrael US, Europe
Blocked access to asylum
Limited/unclear social and economic rights
Expanding protection beyond the Convention
Coping with influx Social and economic
rights Access to asylum
procedure
US temporary protection
Basis Benefits
Country designated by DHS
Specified period, may be extended
Based on armed conflict, natural disaster or emergency
Broader eligibility than asylum
No significant criminal record
Not deportable May obtain
employment authorization
May still apply for asylum or other immigration status
US “discretion”
US “Deferred action”Israeli Temporary Protection
Justified by practicalities and politics, not law
Not a clear legal status Benefits people who are
otherwise ineligible for immigration status
Conditions somewhat arbitrary
Employment auth is discretionary
For groups that cannot be deported easily
No official recognition that the people are refugees
No clear right to work Rhetorical use of negative
labels (infiltrator, etc.) Weak political basis Cuts off access to formal
asylum system
Previous examples in Israel:
• The enemy nationals doctrine• The role of UNHCR
“Law” in the rhetoric of asylum
The 88 percent: Eritreans & Sudanese
(UNHCR Statistical Yearbook 2010)
Global Recognition Rates
Eritreans: 76 percent Sudanese: 42 percent
The Double Life
Acknowledgement that Eritreans and (some) Sudanese cannot be deported
Denial that those with TP are even asylum-seekers
Frequent citation to the low number of individual recognitions
Temporary protection in Israel channels those asylum-seekers who are most likely to win Convention refugee status away from a rights-based system, and toward a system dependent entirely on state discretion.
What kind of system is emerging?
