asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware that Mr. Lawrence Fajujonu, a native of Nigeria, and his Moroccan born wife, who now reside at 27 Croftwood Crescent, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, are to be deported from this country on Tuesday, 20 November, and if in view of the following:—(1) that his family have now been living in this country for more than three years; (2) that their child was born here last year and would be entitled to Irish citizenship; (3) that any failure to comply with the immigration laws by the Fajujonus was based on ignorance of the law, rather than any attempt to avoid it; and (4) that severe distress would be caused to the family, particularly the child, by forcible deportation, he will review the case with a view to allowing the family to remain in this country.
Written Answers. - Immigration Procedure.
Limerick East): It is not true that Mr. Fajujonu and his wife are to be deported from this country on 20 November. The actual position is that Mr. Fajujonu was informed by letter dated 15 October 1984 that his application for permission to stay in this country was being refused, that he should make arrangements for his departure as soon as possible and that he was being allowed to stay until 20 November.
I am satisfied that the decision in that regard was properly arrived at, having regard to the provisions of the Aliens Act, 1935, and the regulations made under that Act. The reasons for refusing Mr. Fajujonu permission to stay were:—(i) he was not in a position to support himself and his family without assistance from the State; (ii) he had attempted to enter the United Kingdom from the State at a time when he was debarred from the UK; and (iii) he had been in possession of a forged Irish birth certificate when attempting to enter the UK.
Mr. Fajujonu's presence in this country only came to the notice of my Department earlier this year. It is difficult to accept that his failure to comply with the immigration laws was due to ignorance of the law as he had had quite an amount of dealings with the immigration authorities in the UK. He was refused permission to stay there any longer and he had appealed against that decision. His appeal was refused.
The fact that an alien — otherwise considered unsuitable — is the parent of a child born here is not regarded as sufficient grounds to allow the parent stay here. Mr. Fajujonu's permission to stay in the country expires today. If he does not comply with the request to leave, consideration will have to be given to what further action should be taken.