Hong Kong launches hunt for migrants

Police and immigration officials took part in the raids

By Damian Grammaticas BBC Hong Kong correspondent

Hong Kong's authorities have begun raiding homes across the territory as part of a policy to find and deport more than 4,000 people back to mainland China.

Over 100 immigration and police officers began the operation targeting flats across Hong Kong.

Many families are believed to have hidden their children to prevent the authorities from finding them

The raids marked an escalation of the government's policy to find and repatriate children of Hong Kong residents who the government is deporting to mainland China.

All were born in mainland China to parents who moved as migrants to the territory. Their children came to live with them. But Hong Kong wants to keep strict limits on immigration.

The government removed the children's right of abode and set a deadline for them to return to China voluntarily.

Arrests

Thousands ignored the order and were sent summonses demanding they report to immigration offices for immediate repatriation. But most have continued to defy the authorities so their families' homes are now being searched.

Families face being split up

A government spokeswoman said three men and three women aged between 25 and 41 had been arrested.

All are being held and will be deported to China as soon as possible, she said.

One other man has been arrested for aiding and abetting an individual ignoring a summons.

So far the government has targeted families whose children have spent so many years pressing their claims to be allowed to live in the territory that they are now adults in their own right.

But some of those it wants to deport are as young as five or six years old. Many families are believed to have hidden their children to prevent the authorities from finding them.