Sisters win MP’s support in fight to halt ‘ludicrous’ deportation

Two sisters who were brought to Yorkshire as children and have spent over half their lives here are fighting deportation to Trinidad.
Khadeisha and Kiara CottleKhadeisha and Kiara Cottle
Khadeisha and Kiara Cottle

Kiara and Khadeisha Cottle have lived in Bradford since they were 11 and 12, have studied, worked and paid taxes here and say they consider themselves British.

Now they face being sent more than 4,000 miles away to a country they have not been back to for 13 years after their applications for leave to remain were rejected.

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Supported by friends including Rebecca Tomlinson – the daughter of the late fund-raiser and sportswoman Jane – and Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe, they are campaigning against the decision by the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

Kiara, 23, who worked full-time at a shop in Leeds until last week, when she was dismissed due to her status, said she and Khadeisha, 24, were devastated at the prospect of leaving the country that has become their home.

“They are not really considering that we were children when we were brought here. In that respect it has been quite unfair,” she said.

“We have been here for so long, we have gone to school, to college, we’re registered with the doctors, we have got NHS numbers, National Insurance cards, I have worked for six years and paid taxes and I support three charities. I don’t know what else we can do.”

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The sisters were brought to the UK in 2000 by their mother, who worked as a nurse in Bradford in the 1960s. She left them with their older sister, a British citizen, when she returned to Trinidad.

After settling in Holme Wood and enrolling at Tong Upper High School, the girls grew up unaware of the gravity of their situation and its implications. But as they got older and realised, they decided to apply for leave to remain. Their first application was never sent off by their solicitor, they claim, and – having been warned it could be a lengthy process – it was two years before they contacted the Home Office to discover it had never received their paperwork.

During that time, immigration laws were tightened and they missed the criteria for applying as children aged under 18.

They applied again last May after saving up nearly £1,000 for the fees and sending off all the necessary documents including commendations from teachers, tax and bank statements, but their applications were rejected.

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Home Office rules allow people aged over 18 and under 25 who have lived in the UK for at least half of their lives to apply for leave to remain. But the sisters, who have not left the UK in 13 years, were told they do not meet the criteria and have no right to appeal.

“We were devastated this was their response, as we felt the application process was going very well,” said Kiara.

The pair now face an anxious wait to see if they will be served with a removal decision ordering them to return to Trinidad.

“We have no emotional attachment to the country,” said Kiara, who hopes to resume a fashion degree she had begun studying at Bradford College if they are allowed to stay.

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“Although it’s my home in terms of where I was born, I could tell you more about Britain than I could about Trinidad.

“We no longer know the country and would find it very difficult to adapt again having been here the length of time we have.

“I have formed a life here and I’ve got connections with people, friends and family, here.

“I do consider myself British. My friends say I’m more British than they are. I’ve adapted to this country and I feel completely rooted to it.”

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Hundreds of friends, including Miss Tomlinson, are supporting a Facebook petition calling for a change of heart.

“When your friend is going through this it’s not nice to have to sit back and watch. I think she has got as much right to be here as I have,” said Miss Tomlinson.

Labour MP Mr Sutcliffe has also taken up the sisters’ case with UKBA, which is understood to have rejected their application because they failed to apply soon enough after arriving in Britain.

“They have lived in the UK since they were young children and have settled lives here,” said Mr Sutcliffe.

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“It is ridiculous for UKBA to say that they should have applied for further leave to remain when they were only children at the time. I hope that common sense prevails and they are allowed to remain in the country they naturally see as their home.”

A Home Office spokesman said it could not comment on individual cases.