College students from Enfield gathered outside the Home Office on Sunday to demonstrate against a classmate’s possible deportation.
Yashika Bageerathi, 19, fled Mauritius with her mother, younger sister and brother in 2012 to escape a relative who had been physically abusing her.
But since she became an adult, the Home Office has told her that she will be deported – and that she has no grounds for appeal.
On Tuesday, the family saw a glimmer of hope and thought Yashika had been given a last-minute reprieve when British Airways reportedly refused to put her on its flight.
The van carrying her to the airport was ordered to return to Yarl’s Wood immigration centre in Bedfordshire.
But Yashika’s family were subsequently told that the whole family would now be deported instead.
A large number of Turkish and Cypriot students were among the protesters on Sunday, who have been campaigning since December to prevent the teenager’s deportation.
Their campaign has continued throughout the week.
Yashika’s MP – Enfield Southgate’s David Burrowes – has written to the immigration minister James Brokenshire for clarification.
Writing on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, he said: “Told Minister that must get response to my representations by end of day or will be demanding that #Yashika be released on bail”.
Lynne Dawes, principal at Oasis Academy in Enfield, where Yashika is an A Level student, said: “Yashika is about to do her A-levels and her sister has her GCSEs coming up this summer – if they are removed it will ruin their education.
“I’m not proud of my country treating people in this way.”
A petition to Home Secretary Theresa May had attracted 135,000 signatures on Wednesday night. It reads: “We, the undersigned, refuse to accept that this is an appropriate, compassionate or logical course of action. We call upon May to overturn this ruling so that Yashika can- at the very least – complete her education in the UK.”
