A Palestinian family of five was deported from an airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina under murky circumstances despite holding valid travel documents, a July 1 report published by Argentine news outlet Pagina/12 reveals.
The Christian Palestinian family from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank landed at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport on June 16 for what was meant to be a short holiday in Argentina, with return tickets booked for June 25.
Hours after being stopped for questioning, an immigration officer handed them a document to sign — allegedly to grant access to restaurants in the boarding area.
The document was in Spanish and no translator was provided, despite their request.
But the Abu Farha family realised too late that it was actually a deportation order labeling them as “fake tourists”.
“The officer said it was just so we could eat and drink somewhere more comfortable while they reviewed our visa. He lied. He tricked us. We signed without knowing,” said one of the family members, Sandy Bassam Hanna Abu Farha.
The Abu Farha family run a tourism business that guides visitors through historic religious sites across the occupied Palestinian territories and Hebron.
“My dad owns one of the biggest souvenir shops in Bethlehem. It’s a huge business. And I run a major tour company organizing pilgrimages to the Holy Land,” Sandy tells the Argentine news outlet.
“We’d never think of leaving our country.”
The Abu Farha family was detained by immigration authorities for over 24 hours without food, medication.
As hours passed with no news, the family’s local contacts in Argentina grew alarmed and contacted legal representatives.
One lawyer was barred from speaking to them.
Another lawyer, Uriel Biondi, filed a habeas corpus petition, arguing that the family is being illegally detained by the government, after being held without explanation for 16 hours.
The family had secured visas through the Argentine embassy in Tel Aviv, which they described as an exhaustive process that required police clearance from the Palestinian Authority, bank statements, proof of business, medical insurance, and confirmed round-trip travel and hotel reservations.
Still, the Argentinian immigration authorities ultimately moved forward with the deportation.
The Argentine government later stated that the deportation, citing an “international alert”, was against the head of the family patriarch, Bassam Hanna Issa Abu Farha.
But no further details were provided, and the family insists the issue was a case of mistaken identity that had long been resolved.
“They asked for everything, and we provided it,” Sandy recalled.
The family’s documentation included police certificates and even a clarification letter explaining the past confusion over her father’s name, which had previously triggered a false alert.
Since then, he had traveled freely to countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East without issue.
Critics argue the incident is a consequence of an alarming shift in Argentina’s immigration stance.
In May, Argentina’s President Javier Milei signed a sweeping executive decree tightening the country’s immigration rules, a move that drew immediate comparisons to US President Donald Trump’s policies.
It marked a sharp departure from Argentina’s long-standing tradition of welcoming immigrants, granting authorities broader powers to deny entry or deport foreigners with fewer safeguards.
“For some time now, we’ve had regulations that invite chaos and abuse by many opportunists who are far from coming to this country in an honest way,” Argentinan residential spokesperson Manuel Adorn told reporters at the time.
“It’s time to honor our history and make Argentina great again,” he said.