Asylum-seekers continued to face the risk of arrest and prolonged detention as well as forced return to countries where they would be at risk of persecution.following discussions with the Myanmar government, Thailand's National Security Council indicated that the 146,900 Myanmar refugees living in Thailand could return to Myanmar within a year,despite continued instability in Myanmar's ethnic areas and the lack of protections to facilitate a safe,dignified and voluntary return process. Documented and undocumented migrant workers were threatened with daportation in mid-December for failure tocomplete a nation verification process.