CW: Ableism
In Iceland, the deportation of an 11-year-old Palestinian boy and his family has been postponed for one month. They are now facing deportation by early August. Yazan Tamimi, lives with muscular dystrophy, and uses a wheelchair. The boy’s mother, Feryal Tamimi, told RÚV that they don’t know why the decision was made and are still concerned about the future.
Yazan and his family arrived in Iceland around a year ago from Palestine. They traveled to Iceland through Spain, where they had their passports stamped. Icelandic officials intend to transfer the family to Spain, where they have never lived, with the help of the Dublin Regulation.
The Dublin Regulation is a European Union regulation that specifies which EU member state is responsible for examining an asylum application. These applications are submitted by a person seeking international protection under the Geneva Convention and the Qualification Directive within the European Union.
Physicians in Iceland have said that deportation might drastically shorten Yazan’s life and endanger his life. Traveling poses risks for him. Deportation will disrupt his vital treatment for up to 18 months.
Locals in Iceland have organized regular protests in support of Yazan, urging Icelandic officials to overturn their decision and allow the family to stay. According to the family’s lawyer, Albert Björn Lúðvígsson, new details have emerged in their case, and they are requesting that the Immigration Appeals Board examine the case. He claims that laws were not followed in evaluating Yazan’s disability, and that the evaluation was not in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Worldwide, disabled immigrants encounter systemic challenges, including discrimination, socioeconomic deprivation. In the U.S. 5.6% of nonelderly immigrants are disabled based on five-year estimates from the 2015 to 2019 American Community Survey. This is not the first time a disabled child has been threatened with deportation.
In 2017, a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was detained by federal immigration authorities in Texas. She passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint. She was en route to a hospital for urgent gallbladder surgery.
Rosamaria Hernandez was brought over the border illegally to live in Laredo, Texas when she was three months old. She was transferred from a medical center in Laredo to a hospital in Corpus Christi. It was approximately 2 A.M on October 25, 2017.
Border Patrol agents stopped the ambulance she was riding in. The family says the agents permitted her to proceed to Driscoll Children’s Hospital. However, they followed the ambulance the rest of the way there. Subsequently, they stood outside her room until she was released.
Hernandez’s parents fought to have her released. Federal officials released Hernandez on November 3. Eleven days after her ordeal began.
Changes need to be made to immigration policies to ensure that disabled people are not subject to discriminatory requirements. Iceland should allow Yazan’s family to remain there.
Sources:
“Country Responsible for Asylum Application (Dublin Regulation).” Migration and Home Affairs, European Union, 23 Sept. 2020, home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/common-european-asylum-system/country-responsible-asylum-application-dublin-regulation_en.
Davis, Kimara. “The European Union’s Dublin Regulation and the Migrant Crisis.” Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 19 (2020): 261.
Echave , Paola, and Dulce Gonzalez. “Being an Immigrant with Disabilities.” Urban Institute, 25 Apr. 2022, http://www.urban.org/research/publication/being-immigrant-disabilities#:~:text=Immigrants%20with%20disabilities%20face%20multiple,barriers%20to%20safety%20net%20access.
Magnússon, Pétur. “FJÖLSKYLDA Yazans Enn Áhyggjufull .” RÚV, Icelandic National Broadcasting Service , 5 July 2024, http://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2024-07-05-fjolskylda-yazans-enn-ahyggjufull-417161.
Sacchetti, Maria. “U.S. Frees 10-Year-Old Undocumented Immigrant with Cerebral Palsy.” The Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2017 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/us-frees-10-year-old-undocumented-immigrant-with-cerebral-palsy/2017/11/03/283fd53a-
Yelena. “Deportation of Disabled Palestinian Boy Postponed.” Iceland Review, Iceland Review, 8 July 2024, http://www.icelandreview.com/news/politics/deportation-of-disabled-palestinian-boy-postponed/.
Yee, Vivian, and Caitlin Dickerson. “10-Year-Old Immigrant Is Detained after Agents Stop Her on Way to Surgery.” The New York Times, 26 Oct. 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/us/girl-cerebral-palsy-detained-immigration.html.