‘I was actually depressed’: France tries to deport immigrant students

Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities. Paris, France – In Saint-Denis, a gritty northern suburb of Paris and one of France’s poorest areas, dozens of children of immigrants are graduating from technical high schools. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list But instead of getting job offers, some are receiving deportation orders. In April, Mariem*, 19, who is studying medicine as part of a two-year vocational degree known as a BTS, received a text message notification that a letter was waiting for her at the post office. When she went to pick it up, she discovered it was an “Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Francais”, or OQTF, a deportation order. “I was sad. I didn’t know what to do. I think I was actually depressed,” said Mariem, who arrived in France from Tunisia in 2019 at the age of 12. She had studied for seven years in middle school and a technical high school, she told Al Jazeera. Mohammed*, 19, faces a similar situation. Currently enrolled in a two-year BTS programme in electrical engineering, he arrived in France from Morocco at the age of 14 along with his family. In September, he returned from vacation to a similar letter. The OQTF, delivered by France’s Ministry of the Interior, informed him that he did not hold the proper visa to study since he arrived on a tourist visa. The letter also claimed Mohammed was not enrolled in school, which he said was false. “I was shocked, disappointed,” Mohammed said. …