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Legal fight to let family stay
Friends of a young mum and her daughter who face the threat of deportation were today starting a legal battle to keep her in this country.
Raquel Frederico, who has a five-year-old daughter, Audiva Domingos, left Angola three years ago to start a new life after she says she was subjected to sexual abuse, was forced to work without pay and had no education.
The 23-year-old, set up home in Fence Houses after arriving in England in January 2005
She said: "I came as an asylum seeker. I'm very happy to have been here.
"I'm very frightened. It will be very bad in Angola. That's why I am here."
Raquel was questioned at North Shields immigration office and warned that she could be removed at any time.
Her friends at Shiney Row College, where she is in the second year of a nursing course, have launched a campaign, with a petition and plea to local MP Fraser Kemp, to keep the popular student here.
Although the immigration service refuses to discuss individual cases, a spokeswoman said: "All applications for asylum are carefully considered by trained caseworkers based on accurate up-to-date information, taking into account all the circumstances of an application.
"If an application is refused, there is a right of appeal to the independent appellate authorities against that decision.
"The UK Government is committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need, in accordance with our commitments under international law.
"However, in order to maintain the integrity of our asylum system and prevent unfounded applications it is important that we are able to enforce returns of those who do not need protection.
"We only seek to return those who the asylum decision making and independent appeals processes have found do not need international protection and who can therefore return safely.
"We consider it reasonable to expect an individual in that position to return to their source country, and if they do not depart voluntarily we may enforce their return in due course.
"We would not remove someone where there are any outstanding barriers to removal."
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Weather for Sunderland
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Heavy sleet
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
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