A massive police operation initiated last year targeting ‘dark-skinned people’ suspected of being illegal migrants and visa overstayers have seen more than 1,000 individuals arrested in just the last few weeks.
The operation, dubbed “X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner”, was promoted by the Thai military government as a necessary step to root out transnational crime carried out by illegal immigrants residing in the country.
“Our job is to classify who are the good dark-skinned people and who are the ones likely to commit crimes,” said the head of Thai immigration Surachate Hakparn.
But rights groups say that the widespread police action constitutes racial profiling and could see refugees and asylum seekers sent back to the country they escaped from.
“Thailand’s immigration crackdown has swept up refugees and asylum seekers, sent young children into horrid, prison-like conditions, and appears to have clear aspects of racial profiling against South Asians and Africans,” said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.
According to Thailand criminal defense attorneys though, the country does not have a racial profiling law and committing a crime in Thailand, including visa overstays is punishable by deportation.
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