Bureaucratic Deadlock: State Demands Deportation of Mother of Israeli Daughter
Thelma, who arrived from the Philippines, failed to provide a divorce document from a marriage 30 years ago, leading the state to refuse to regularize her status. Despite living in Israel for over 20 years with her Israeli partner and their 16-year-old daughter, Adi, the family faces separation as early as next week.
"I don't want to be angry at my country, I just want someone to stop this and understand for a moment what this decision is doing to me and my family," says 16-year-old Adi Lev. Adi was born to an Israeli father and a mother from the Philippines who has been in the country for over 20 years. Adi grew up in Israel and holds Israeli citizenship. This month, the Population and Immigration Authority ordered her mother to be deported by next week, threatening to dismantle their family.
The reason for the Authority's decision is Thelma Kasao's inability to divorce the person she married nearly 30 years ago. This comes despite the fact that the Authority's own checks confirmed the exclusive nature of the relationship between Thelma and her Israeli partner, Eyal Lev. Thelma had previously been granted temporary permits while being required to regularize her status, but her attempts to finalize a divorce in the Philippines were unsuccessful.
A letter from the Philippine Embassy in Israel explained that to finalize the divorce, Thelma would need to remain abroad for six months. As a mother of two daughters who have lived their entire lives in Israel, she could not fulfill this requirement. Last year, she traveled to the Philippines with Eyal Lev, but her request for divorce was rejected. Consequently, the Authority denied her request to extend her temporary permit.
Ronit Elian, Director of the Visas and Status Division at the Population Authority, wrote to the family's lawyers stating that the applicants had not provided updated documentation or made sufficient efforts to dissolve the marriage. "It has been ruled more than once that the right to family life of an Israeli is relative and is not absolute," she stated.
"I never thought a day would come when they would decide my mother must leave me," says Adi. Her 18-year-old sister, Ashley, is currently fighting to enlist in the IDF. Adi, who identifies as Israeli in every respect, pleads for humanity: "I am not asking for special treatment, I just want my mother to stay with me."
Adi's father, Eyal, criticized the state's priorities: "No Israeli citizen should face an impossible choice between their country and the mother of their children. How can bureaucracy be more important than a real family life that has lasted for years?"
Attorney Tomer Warsha, representing the family, added: "There are moments when the law must meet common sense. Adi is an Israeli girl, and her right to live here with her family is not a marginal administrative detail. This is a moment where a public authority must exercise responsibility and humanity."
The Population and Immigration Authority responded: "This is a foreign citizen married in her country of origin. The applicant received residence permits over the years to allow her to dissolve her marriage, a necessary threshold condition for receiving status in Israel. The requested documents were not presented, and the appeal was rejected lawfully."
