A petition with more than a quarter of a million signatures will be presented to the Home Office in London today, pleading for a Bristol teenager to be allowed to stay in this country.
More than 264,000 people signed the petition set up by John Stokes on behalf of his foster son Samet, who is facing being deported back to Albania.
Samet was trafficked into Britain as a child, and now suffers from PTSD as a result of his experiences.
Now a Bristol City , he is studying carpentry and trying to in Mr Stokes’ foster family in Yate, near Bristol.
His ‘A Future for Samet’ campaign went viral and has seen hundreds of thousands of people sign the petition and a song released as part of the campaign reached the top 5 of the charts before Christmas.
Samet was initially given leave to remain in Britain when he escaped the people-traffickers in Bristol and ended up at the home where John has fostered more than 60 other children and young people over the years.
But while the Government does not deport unaccompanied children, as soon as Samet turned 18 he had to reapply to remain - and was turned down.
A judge refused the family’s appeal, and now the campaign is attempting to overturn that decision in the courts in London.
This week, people across Britain have been sharing pictures of them showing support for Samet ahead of the petition handover on social media.
Mr Stokes said the campaign to save Samet from being deported highlighted the wider issue of the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ meaning that it allowed unaccompanied children to create new lives for themselves, but then deported them as soon as they turn 18.
“To rescue desperate children from abuse and exploitation, to give them hope, stability and purpose only to then abandon them should not be acceptable in a civilised society,” said Mr Stokes.
The petition is due to be handed over at noon on Thursday to the Home Office, and will be addressed to Home Secretary Priti Patel.
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