Thai Deportations Could Take Time

2 March, 2010
By WILAWAN WATCHARASAKWET And PATRICK BARTA

A Thai government official said authorities intend to stick to a Tuesday deadline for new immigration rules that could result in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who don't comply.

But it could take some time before any deportations begin, said Karun Kitpun, head of the national verification division of Thailand's Ministry of Labour. The government must still compile data on the number of migrant workers who failed to comply, and after that will determine how best to handle them, he said.

"The government will decide later how to enforce the rule of law on these people," he said.
Human rights groups have blasted the program, which requires some 1.5 million migrants—mainly from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos—to register with Thai authorities and prove their nationalities or be kicked out. Although Thailand has long required migrant workers to register with the government, the newer program calls on migrants to undergo a more time-consuming process that involves verifying their identities with their home governments.

The goal is to help authorities get a better record of who is in the country, expand protections for the workers and tighten supervision. But many workers are afraid to participate because they fear doing so could subject them to punishments or penalties in their home countries.

Others fear hassles at the hands of Thai police, who rights groups have said sometimes request bribes to prevent deportation, among other abuses. Thai authorities have said they're investigating the complaints.

It remained unclear Tuesday how many migrants had failed to enter the process, though Thai officials and human rights groups have said in recent days the total was expected to be at least several hundred thousand people. Mr. Karun said any workers who did not come in by Tuesday to apply for an extension of their work permits as part of the process would become illegal, but it would take a while to determine exactly how many failed to do so.

Mr. Karun said workers who did start the process by Tuesday would have additional time to submit some of the documents to verify their identity, as announced earlier by Thai authorities.
Many Thai businesses, especially textile manufacturers and agricultural operations, rely heavily on the migrant workers to help keep wages low and keep their businesses competitive with India and China. Human-rights groups say the workers now account for roughly 5% to 10% of Thailand's work force.