33 TNT Pinoys nabbed in Saudi crackdown

At least 33 undocumented Filipino workers were apprehended in a series of intensified crackdown by Saudi authorities on illegal migrants in the Middle East state despite the issuance of amnesty for overstaying aliens.

Citing a report from the Philippine Labor Overseas Office in Al-Khobar, migrant worker group Migrante said those arrested were 27 women and six men.

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said Saudi authorities started raiding various accommodations of foreign migrant workers on suspicion that they are overstaying and undocumented expatriates.

On Tuesday night, a composite team from Jawasat police and Mutawa or cultural police started the crackdown by raiding apartments and houses at Tukbah, Al-Khobar, where suspected undocumented migrants, including Filipinos, are staying.

“We appeal to the Saudi government to respect the rights of undocumented migrants, including Filipino workers,” Monterona said.

It was not clear why the arrests were made despite the amnesty.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila and the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh are currently verifying this information, but assured that consular assistance will be provided to the arrested Filipinos.

Last September, the Saudi Arabian government announced a six-month amnesty for illegal foreigners overstaying their visas, saying they would be allowed to leave the Kingdom without punishment.

The amnesty covers Haj pilgrims or other foreigners holding any other type of visas which had expired, or violated passport department regulations.

Those who will avail of the amnesty must report to the nearest Department for Foreign Affairs from Sept. 25, 2010 to March 23, 2011.

Violators caught after this grace period will receive severe punishment, including jail time and heavy fines. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune