Legal News

A woman who worked as a cleaner to the former Immigration Minister Mark Harper has been held at Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre pending deportation since last Friday (18/07/14).

The Morning Star reports that Isabella Acevedo from Colombia was “dragged” out of her daughter’s wedding to be detained at Yarl’s Wood last week.

Ms Acevedo worked illegally for MP Mark Harper for seven years.

Mr Harper has recently been moved to the position of Disabled People’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet reshuffle.

His former cleaning lady was due to be deported back to Colombia from Heathrow on Wednesday night (23/07/14). It is reported that her brother was also arrested in the immigration raid during the family wedding in Haringey, which was stopped when Border Agency officials stormed it.

When it was revealed in February that Ms Acevedo had been working illegally for a government minister, she asked to be shown the same leniency that he was.

“He wasn’t criminalised and has been given a second chance,” she told the media.

Speaking at Yarl’s Wood on Friday after her detention, she said:

“I was working to support my family. I don’t believe I have done anything wrong. I’m not a billionaire hiding money all over the place.

“I am scared for my safety in Colombia. My family has been torn apart.”

Ms Acevedo said she left Colombia in 2000 with her child – who was time just five years’ old at the time – because her father-in-law had been kidnapped.

In 2010, she applied for indefinite leave to remain in the UK, but the application was refused because her daughter had as a child returned to live in Colombia for a period of time.

Ms Acevedo has since appealed against that decision.

Mr Harper was not available to comment, the Morning Star reports – and the Home Office said it was not able to comment on individual cases.

A protest by supporters of Ms Acevedo has been staged outside the Westminster flat Ms Acevedo used to clean.

Mr Harper introduced the controversial vans encouraging illegal migrants to return home, which were scrapped after a public outcry against them.

It is thought just one illegal immigrant returned home after the vans were launched – but went of their own free will, according to media reports.

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