Immigration officers were accused yesterday of deporting right-of-abode litigants with pending court cases who tried to extend their stay.
Arrests which started on Monday and a refusal to renew recognisance documents after expiry would force abode-seekers into hiding, welfare groups said.
The Immigration Department confirmed yesterday that it had arranged to remove 61 abode-seekers who had reported to the department over the previous two days. A spokesman said those who were deported had no grounds for remaining in the SAR.
The spokesman said the 7,000 abode claimants were subject to removal unless they were involved in litigation and had been given an undertaking that their removal would be withheld pending the conclusion of their court case.
About 5,000 abode-seekers whose claims are represented by the case of Ng Siu-tung and Sin Hoi-chu have been given such an undertaking. But only 3,000 of them remain in Hong Kong.
The spokesman said the department would arrange to remove those who had not been given an undertaking or an interim court injunction and were not in a similar position to Ng and Sin which warranted case-by-case consideration.