The single greatest obstacle to an asylum seeker obtaining leave to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds is Nigerian origin, according to the director of the Irish Refugee Council.
Peter O'Mahony was commenting on the case of an eight-month-old boy, who is due to be deported with his Nigerian mother. Leslie Agho has a heart condition that could be life-threatening, and for which he has been receiving treatment here.
Mr O'Mahony pointed out that the child's illness was unrelated to eligibility for refugee status for him or his mother. He also said that when it came to the basis on which decisions were made by the immigration authorities, "we have no basis for knowing the reason".
When a person fails to prove to the asylum authorities that he or she is entitled to refugee status, the person can seek leave to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds, which can be linked to the length of time already in the State, or to special considerations, like family and health reasons.
Such leave is at the discretion of Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
The Minister has been criticised by the refugee council for using his discretion to allow people remain on humanitarian grounds much more sparingly than corresponding ministers in other EU states, like Denmark.
Mr O'Mahony said: "The single greatest obstacle to obtaining leave to remain in Ireland is having Nigerian origin." He said the policy of the Department of Justice towards Nigerians changed about 18 months ago.
Prior to that, the largest group that obtained refugee status, having been found to meet the Geneva Convention criteria, came from Nigeria. Since then there had been a dramatic increase in the number of Nigerians being deported, the majority of them women and children, he said.
"Recently if you are from Nigeria you face a massive uphill battle, especially if you have no contacts with political clout," he added. "There is nothing wrong with using political contacts. But it's unfair, as you could have two people with the same case treated differently."
It emerged yesterday that Nigerian student Olukunle (Kunle) Elukanlo (21), who has been living in Co Dublin, is facing deportation from Wednesday, though he has reportedly become a father. A deportation order against him is due to take effect from March 28th, following Mr McDowell's rejection of a plea by the student to be allowed stay in Ireland.
A 19-year-old girlfriend of Mr Kunle gave birth to his son in the Dublin's Coombe Hospital last week, it was reported yesterday. His lawyers are expected to argue that he should be allowed to stay in the State as he is a parent of a child born here.