Natural Justice

[poliphilo]

I understand there have recently been changes in immigration law that strengthen the rights of children in asylum cases. Odi and Peter's lawyer will be using these to continue pressing their case with the Home Office.

Fabi greets us these days as "nanna" and "grandpa". The better he is bonded to us- and the society he is growing up in- the more compelling is the case that he should stay. When we saw him yesterday we were trying to teach him to say, "I am an English boy". He's getting very quick at picking up words. He didn't grasp the whole sentence- it is perhaps a little too abstract for him-  but he managed a garbled version of "English".

I think it's a travesty of natural justice that a child should be expelled from the country in which he/she was born. 

Comments

[veronikos.livejournal.com]

>> travesty of natural justice

Perhaps. I'd need to hear other facts, though. Did the parents enter the country legally, in the first instance? If one is going to invoke Natural Justice, once must come to her with clean hands.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

They thought they had entered legally. They employed an agent who took their money, assured them everything was in order- then abandoned them in Liverpool, without papers or money...

[veronikos.livejournal.com]

It's certainly a sad tale. I'm betting, however, that English law does not provide for citizenship for the parents under such circumstances.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Well, they've already had their application turned down twice- so you're clearly right. What is at issue now is the rights of the children- and here- I rather think- European Law may come into play.