Illegal immigration from Africa to Israel

Illegal immigration from Africa to Israel (often also referred to as infiltration by the Israeli media and by Israeli government organizations; however, the use of the term has been criticized) refers to the act of African nationals entering Israel in violation of Israeli law. This phenomenon began in the second half of the 2000s, when a large number of persons from Africa entered Israel, mainly through the fenced border between Israel and Egypt. According to the data of the Israeli Interior Ministry, 26,635 people arrived illegally in this way by July 2010, and over 55,000 by January 2012. In an attempt to curb the influx, Israel constructed the Egypt–Israel barrier, which was completed in December 2013.

As of January 2018, according to the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) there are 37,288 African migrants in Israel, not including children born to migrants in Israel.

African asylum seekers comprise 0.5% of Israel's population. Most African migrants are generally regarded to be legitimate asylum seekers by various human rights organizations.

Many of the migrants seek an asylum status under the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. However, many of them, mostly citizens of Eritrea and Sudan, cannot be forcibly deported from Israel. Under international law, Eritrea citizens (who, since 2009, form the majority of the undocumented workers in Israel) cannot be deported due to the opinion of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that Eritrea has a difficult internal situation and a forced recruitment and therefore the Eritrean immigrants are defined as a "temporary humanitarian protection group". Israeli authorities have stated that they could not deport Sudanese directly back to Sudan because Israel has no diplomatic ties to Sudan. Accordingly, the Israeli authorities grant temporary residence through "conditional release permits" which must be renewed every one to four months, depending on the discretion of the individual immigration official. Various authorities in Israel estimate that 80–90% of the undocumented workers live primarily in two centers: more than 60% in Tel Aviv and more than 20% Eilat, with a few in Ashdod, Jerusalem and Arad.

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