Migrant avoids deportation after claiming people smuggler threw away his ID and phone

An Iraqi man who fled his country after being threatened with arrest for alleged exam fraud has been granted permission to stay in the UK, despite inconsistencies in his case.

The man, who remains anonymous, claimed he was caught on CCTV delivering test papers to an address before students were due to sit their exams.

He fled Iraq after being accused of fraud and said an “agent” who helped him reach Britain disposed of his ID documents and forced him to abandon his phone. 

The man told an immigration tribunal he could not remember his family’s phone numbers, making it impossible to replace his lost ID card. Without identification, Iraqis face significant risks, including arrest and interrogation, if they attempt to return home or move across the country.

The Home Office approved his appeal, and the decision was upheld by an upper immigration tribunal, despite inconsistencies in his account. His case is set to be reheard in a fresh tribunal hearing. 

This case is part of a growing trend where individuals facing deportation have been allowed to remain in the UK due to personal circumstances. For example, last week, an Albanian criminal, Dritan Mazreku, avoided deportation after a judge ruled that long-distance communication with his stepson would be “too harsh.” Mazreku, who took on a “paternal role” for his stepson, was allowed to stay despite being jailed, as the judge deemed regular visits to Albania “unmanageable.” 

In another case, a criminal avoided deportation because his son disliked foreign chicken nuggets, highlighting the subjective nature of some tribunal decisions. 

Meanwhile, the Labour government is reportedly considering new plans to tackle small boat crossings by establishing “return hubs” in countries like Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, and North Macedonia. These hubs would process asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected, echoing previous Conservative plans to send migrants to Rwanda. The proposal follows the European Union’s approval for member states to set up similar return hubs. 

These developments underscore the ongoing challenges in the UK’s immigration and asylum system, as well as the complex human factors influencing deportation decisions.