We are firmly opposed to re-detention and government-sponsored deportations, which separate families and rob children of their futures!

Statement

Currently, APFS allows undocumented families to stay together in Japan without being separated.
We are running the "Family Together! Campaign" to encourage this.
In May of this year, the United States implemented a policy to separate undocumented immigrants from their parents and children, drawing fierce criticism from both within the United States and abroad.
In Japan, too, there are now cases of families (couples) being separated who are staying in the country illegally.
The number of APFS members who have been re-detained or immediately deported has been increasing.
However, there were four cases of re-interment, and three of them were immediately deported at government expense.
It is unusual for such immediate deportations to continue.

Detention is painful not only for the detainees themselves but also for their families.
In Japan, where the law is in place, both the individuals involved and their families are under a great deal of stress due to the uncertainty of the future.
The deportation will be announced without notice to the family, friends or supporters of the deportees, and even the deportees themselves will be informed of it on the day.
In most cases, the detention center only notifies the detainees the day before and takes them to the airport without them having the chance to say goodbye to anyone.
They will be sent back without anyone knowing. Some of the people involved have not been back to their home country for more than 20 years.
At the airport where I arrived, I cried and called my family in Japan with the little money I had.
Some people have spoken out. Even elementary school students born and raised in Japan have been deported and can only speak Japanese.
There is no way to predict whether the child will be able to attend a local school in the future.

Among those repatriated were Japanese spouses, and the Japanese husbands and wives left behind were suddenly separated.
One Japanese husband has a chronic illness and is at a loss as to what to do.
It is a dangerous situation if you are not nearby.

Thus, these men and women, all of whom had settled in Japanese society and formed families, were at risk of fleeing.
Detaining such people is considered inhumane even under international standards, let alone for the safety of their families and relatives.
Deportations that separate couples are a clear violation of international human rights law.

We at APFS are aware that such barbaric acts are commonplace in Japan and have recently accelerated.
We are outraged by this and firmly oppose and protest the unnecessary detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants at government expense.

October 26, 2018

Non-profit organization ASIAN PEOPLE'S FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY
Representative: Mayumi Yoshida