For several years, ACRI has taken a leading role in reaching a solution for the children of migrant workers to obtain status in Israel. Despite critical advances, a number of children still remain outside of the framework. Most recently, ACRI and the Hotline for Migrant Workers, in a petition to the High Court of Justice, demanded the cancellation of the condition according to which permanent status would only be granted to children whose parents entered the country legally before they were born. The petition emphasized that the children who do not meet this criterion grew up in Israel, speak Hebrew, and their center of life is in Israel; deportation to their country of origin (or that of their parents) would be tantamount to deportation to a foreign land. In July, the Court ruled that the children would be able to apply for status again, and the Interior Ministry would not consider the legality of their parents’ entry to Israel as a criterion.
