Published 02/07/2025 11:29 | Edited 02/07/2025 11:57
Javier’s government Malei deported, forcibly and under illegality, a Palestinian family composed of five people who legally landed at Ezeiza Airport in Greater Buenos Aires on June 16.
Members of the Abu Farha family, Christians residing in Belém, in occupied Palestine, and owners of religious tourism companies in the region, had obtained Argentine visa at the Tel Aviv embassy, as well as presenting a letter invitation, hotel reservations, health insurance and return tickets.
Still, they were arrested for more than 24 hours without any formal explanation, with retained passports, prevented from eating, seeking medications for chronic diseases and wearing clothes suitable for temperature.
Lawyers called by Argentine partners of the family were denied access. A habeas corpus was presented by a second lawyer, Uriel Biondi, after 16 hours of detention. Which did not prevent deportation.
The family reports being deceived by a migratory agent, who made them sign a document in Spanish on the grounds that it only served to authorize access to a restaurant departure area.
In fact, it was the deportation authorization, and no translator was offered despite the express request. “The agent lied us, deceived us and made us sign without anyone translating anything,” said Sandy Bassam Hanna Abu Farha, one of the daughters.
International Homonymia alert
Faced with the repercussions, the Milei government justified the refusal of entry based on an alleged “international alert” about Bassam Hanna Issa Aboufferha. However, there was no clarification on the origin, the issuing body nor the content of the warning, despite the charges made by the country’s press.
Habeas Corpus presented clarifies that this is a case of homonymy seven years ago, when the family patriarch tried to transfer money to a bank in China and had the operation rejected by alleged similarity of names with someone else.
The case was solved with sending supporting documentation and, since then, the passenger has been traveling with an official document that clarifies the confusion.
“If my father had a problem, I couldn’t travel to China twice a year and Europe at least ten times a year. They saw our passports full of stamps and visas,” Sandy said.
The family even carried a certificate of good conduct issued by the Palestinian National Authority and official document clarifying that Bassam is not the person with whom he had been confused.
Despite the elucidation, the deportation was executed without the possibility of judicial revision or defense presentation. In Istanbul, where they landed after the forced flight, the family had to reorganize the trip back to Palestine, although three of them had not seen staying in Türkiye.
DNU 366, EXCLUSION POLICY AND TRUMP SHADOW
The case occurs under the Decree of Need and Urgency (DNU) 366/2025, signed by Milei in May, which expanded the possibilities of entry rejection based on “founded suspicions” on the intensionality of the traveler.
The Argentine press, however, points out that the decree has direct inspiration in Donald Trump’s migratory policy and breaks with the Argentine tradition of hospitality and openness.
“Today comes almost anyone, without many questions, and the deportation conditions are very flexible,” said Casa Rosada spokesman Manuel Adorni.
Jurists heard by Page 12 They denounced that the deportation of the Abu Farha family violates elementary constitutional guarantees, such as the right to defense and due process of law. The family intended to spend only nine days in the country and return with a group of religious tourists.
Institutional xenophobia: “It was because they were Palestinians”
Argentine friends of the family claim that the measure was motivated by ethnic discrimination. “It was a case of xenophobia. And it was because they were Palestinians. The citizen.
Human rights organizations denounce that action opens precedent for persecution based on national, religious or cultural origin.
Argentine jurists warn of the risk that migration will be treated under unproven safety pretexts, creating a zone of discretion and institutional racism.
“If this happened to a family with all the documents and official visa, what can happen to vulnerable refugees and migrants?” Asked one expert to the journal The citizen.
Political decision, non -technical
According to information published by The daily leftsources with direct knowledge of the National Migration Directorate – the federal agency responsible for controlling the entry and exit of people in the Argentine territory – stated that such a deportation would not have occurred without order of a high political position.
Although migration director Sebastián Seoane, is a career servant, the decision would not have been administrative. All suspicions fall on the Ministry of Security, led by Patricia Bullrich.
For these sources, heard by the same vehicle, the case reveals a deliberate attempt to “please Israel” amid conflict in Gaza. The gesture, they say, is political, diplomatic and ideological. The damage to the international image of Argentina and the country’s democratic institutions has not yet been measured.
Source: vermelho.org.br
