By The SUN
 |
| Immigration officers escort the Vietnamese illegal immigrants onto the plane that took them home |
The Immigration
Department said today, Nov. 6, that it
repatriated 40 Vietnamese illegal immigrants and overstayers through a special
flight.
The group was made up of
25 males and 15 females, of whom 36 failed to support their claim against non-refoulement,
or against being sent back home. Eighteen of them had been released from
prison.
The four others had
overstayed their visas.
The mass repatriation
highlighted Hong Kong’s avowed effort to speed up the removal of torture
claimants who fail to substantiate their claims.
A report made to the
Legislative Council last year showed that as at the end of April 2020,
Immigration had ruled on a total of 17,618 non-refoulement claims, among which
only 179, or about one percent, were substantiated or proven.
“Depending on circumstances and need, the Immigration
Department will continue to remove illegal immigrants and overstayers from Hong
Kong as soon as practicable through appropriate measures,” said the government statement.
Since 2006, Hong Kong has
been providing humanitarian assistance to non-refoulement claimants to meet
their basic needs, such as housing and food. At the same time, the government
said it has to ensure that this help does not attract more illegal immigrants
to seek entry and remain illegally in Hong Kong.
For the years 2020-2021 alone,
the government estimates that $706 million will be spent providing humanitarian
assistance to non-refoulement claimants in Hong Kong.
