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| Some of the women in the group were picked up at their detention centre and taken to the airport |
Officers
from the Immigration Department repatriated a total of 30 non-refoulement
claimants (or those trying to oppose being sent home) between Nov 7 and 11.
A
statement issued by the Department late yesterday, Nov. 11, said the “unsubstantiated
non-refoulement claimants” comprised 23 males and seven females. Among them
were former prisoners who had committed criminal offences and were discharged
after serving their sentences.
They
also included illegal immigrants, overstayers and passengers
refused landing.
Immigration said it remains committed to removing
non-refoulement claimants who are unable to support their applications against
being sent back to their places of origin.
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| Some of the 23 men in the group being escorted individually to the plane |
However, this campaign has been “hindered by
various factors, including a significant proportion of claimants having applied
for leave to apply for judicial review against their refusal claims and
appeals, as well as the limited flights and other travel restrictions imposed
during the pandemic.”
To speed up the process, Immigration says it
continues to liaise with governments
of major source countries of non-refoulement claimants (including the Philippines,
Indonesia, India, Pakistan and those in the African continent), airline
companies and other government departments.
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