A Canberran fought the Department of Immigration over the deportation order of a Thai family who were apprehended a week ago. The family were being detained in Sydney and were scheduled to be deported as illegal immigrants.
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John White, a Sydney-based solicitor, offered to fight the case on their behalf and contended that the family were not given expert advice in the past year that would have allowed them to apply for permanent residency.
Mr White also said that the couple had returned to Australia based on the advice of Bangkok doctors who told them that the Australian climate would lower the severity of their son's asthma attacks.
Their son was born in Australia when the couple lived in Canberra between 1969 and 1974.
Mr Barlin, who employed the mother, flew to Sydney to accompany her and her son to a Macquarie Street specialist's rooms, to confirm the complaint. He said that the family had kept their worries and communications with the immigration department to themselves.
Mr Barlin said "until last Tuesday night when they took Ampon from the restaurant neither myself nor any of my staff knew of their plight. They have been trying to fight this by themselves with letters to the department saying 'Please take compassion on us'. They have never had anybody really on side".
He continued "had they had the right advice at the right time this would probably be a very different case. Only a few weeks ago if illegal immigrants had a child born in Australia, it was taken into consideration".
The couple was apprehended from the home and the workplace. Mr Barlin was upset with the nature of the arrest.
He said "they were not trying to hide from anyone. They had been corresponding with the immigration people who knew very well where they resided. There was no way in the world they would have run. This is what really upset them".
The couple first arrived in Australia with Thai diplomatic staff in 1969.
