ST CRONAN’S IN PLEA TO JUSTICE MINISTER: LET OUR ERIC STAY
50,000 sign Bray school’ s petition to revoke deportation order
THERE HAS been a huge response to St Cronan’s Boys’ National School’s appeal on behalf of fourth class pupil Eric Zhi Ying Mei Xue.
More than 50,000 people have signed the school’s petition asking Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to revoke the deportation order for the nine-year-old Bray schoolboy.
The family has exhausted all avenues of appeal against the order, which was made in 2015.
Eric was born in Holles Street Hospital in Dublin and has never left the country.
However, under a 2004 amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, children born in Ireland to parents who were both foreign nationals no longer have a constitutional right to Irish citizenship.
LIKE MOST of his friends, Eric Zhi Ying Mei Xue was born in Holles Street hospital in Dublin in 2009. But unlike them, he is not legally considered to be an Irish citizen and faces the threat of deportation.
His school, St Cronan’s in Bray, launched a campaign last week to stop that from happening and in the space of just one week, more than 50,000 people have signed a petition on change.org.
Principal of St Cronan’s Maeve Tierney said that the family has written to the department asking that deportation proceedings be paused pending a full review.
‘Eric is an extraordinary young man,’ she said. She said that he is getting on with school life despite so much attention, and isn’t letting it go to his head.
She said that he has wonderful supportive friends and that everyone in his life is doing their best to protect him and keep things as normal as possible.
‘At the same time his classmates are asking questions, and wondering why this would be happening to a child in our school,’ said Ms Tierney.
She said that she is completely blown away by the extraordinary response to their petition. ‘It’s hugely gratifying and we are so grateful to all those who have expressed solidarity. There is great compassion out there.’
The petition calls on the Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan to revoke a deportation order made in respect of the fourth class pupil.
Eric has never been out of the country. ‘If he is forced to go to China, where his mother was born, he will have no access to China’s health or education systems because he is not a Chinese citizen,’ reads the petition. ‘ This is a humanitarian issue – Eric urgently needs your support.’
Eric’s mother Leena Mei Mei Xue, was 19 when she arrived in Ireland illegally in 2006. She has been appealing a deportation order for the past three years with the final appeal rejected in June and deportation imminent.
The legislation behind this predicament dates back to the 27th amendment of the Constitution Act of 2004. This amended the Constitution of Ireland to provide that children born on the Ireland to parents who were both foreign nationals would no longer have a constitutional right to Irish citizenship.
Minister Simon Harris announced that he has made representations to the Department of Justice and Equality in relation to Eric’s situation.
‘I have appealed for Eric to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds,’ said the minister. ‘Quite frankly, Eric is Irish. He was born here, goes to school here and has never lived anywhere else. This is his home. This is his country. I really hope common sense can prevail.”
Fianna Fáil health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly said that the minister must have some compassion. ‘I’ve written to the Justice Minister on their behalf, and spoke directly with the Minister for Justice about Eric’s case on Thursday. I have two asks: first, that there is an immediate stop put to any deportation action, in order to provide time to find a long-term solution for Eric and his mum. Second, that a way is found to grant Eric Irish citizenship, and his mum permanent residency,’ said Deputy Donnelly.
‘As far as I’m concerned, Eric is as Irish as every other child in Wicklow. Bray is the only home that Eric has ever known. He was born and raised here. Remember, because he wasn’t born in China, if he were sent there, he would have no access to their health or education system if he’s sent there. Deporting him under these circumstances would be flat out wrong.’
Deputy John Brady said that common sense must prevail. ‘It’s devastating to think that having spend his entire life in Bray that someone can make a decision to up heave him and send him over 8,000 miles to the other side the earth. Eric was born in Ireland, and has gone through school here, all his friends are here. He is Irish and knows nothing else.’
A Chinese parents’ group has also written to the minister urging him to revoke the deportation order. They said in a statement that the Chinese education system is so different to the Irish one that it would be difficult for Eric to adjust to it.
The Department of Justice said in a statement that it does not comment on individual cases.