Refugees face being deported after new deadline

Asylum-seekers who have applied for refugee status on the basis of having an Irish-born child face deportation from today if they have not responded to official correspondence from the Minister for Justice.

At least 700 families have been issued with letters telling them the authorities wish to deport them. This is part of a Government policy decision, announced last month, on the estimated 11,000 outstanding residency claims from parents of Irish-citizen children.

It had been the practice in recent years to grant such immigrants residency rights. This changed, however, with a Supreme Court ruling last January that non-national parents of Irish-born children did not have an automatic right to remain in the State.

The deadline for many of the letters expires this week, but a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said it was too early to estimate how many asylum-seekers had responded. Refugee support groups say there is "absolute panic" among those who have received the letters.

Sister Joan Roddy, director of the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace Refugee Programme, said there was a lack of legal resources available to asylum- seekers who were expected to make a presentation before the Department if they wished to stay on humanitarian grounds.

Campaigners have also voiced unease that the letters have been sent out at a time when the Dáil and courts are in recess and many solicitors are on holidays.

A number of support groups have written to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, expressing concern that asylum-seekers could be deported because they were not able to articulate adequately their reasons for seeking to stay.