When he talks about the world in which he works, Lacser is very intense. This whole business just eats at him. A few months ago Lacser saw wanted posters for a certain Filipino worker posted around the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. The worker's picture was on it, plus a monetary reward for turning him in. When I got back from vacation, a letter was sitting on my desk from the Interior Ministry, asking me had I seen this Filipino worker.
Foreign laborers have Israeli work visas specific to a certain employer.
The employer gives the Interior Ministry a deposit of thousands of dollars when he receives the worker, and unless he delivers the worker when the visa expires, the employer is liable to forfeit his deposit. Hence the wanted posters. But Israel received a lot of bad press from this style of law enforcement. It was hurting the country's image, and even threatening its relations with some countries that send large numbers of laborers here. Embassies in Tel Aviv were starting to complain to the Foreign Ministry.