Filipino family told set departure date by March 9 or be deported+

TOKYO, Feb. 27 Kyodo - The Justice Ministry on Friday told a Filipino family including a 13-year-old girl born and raised in Japan to decide by March 9 whether the entire family of three or just the parents should leave Japan under their deportation order.

The stance was conveyed to Arlan Calderon, 36, and his wife Sarah, 38, both
undocumented, when they presented themselves at the Tokyo Regional Immigration
Bureau, the couple said.
The family's case has drawn public attention partly because their daughter,
Noriko, has said she wants to continue studying at her junior high school in
Warabi, Saitama Prefecture. She speaks only Japanese.
On Friday, the immigration authorities extended the family's provisional
release status for 10 days and asked the couple to come back on March 9 to
report their decision -- whether to opt for deportation of all three family
members to Philippines or just the couple so only Noriko will remain in Japan.
''They said this (extension) would be the last one,'' Calderon told a press
conference.
The authorities reiterated that it might be possible to issue special
permission for residence for Noriko, but the family's determination to stay
together in Japan remains intact, although it was rejected.
''Noriko is too young to take care of herself. The three of us want to continue
living in Japan for Noriko's education and her future,'' Calderon told
reporters. Immigration officials ''told me they would detain all three of us if
we do not make a decision by then (March 9).''
Shogo Watanabe, a lawyer representing the Calderon family, said, meanwhile, the
U.N. Human Rights Council has shown interest in the case and is collecting
information on it.
The Japanese immigration authorities should wait and see how the human rights
body will react to the case involving the Calderon family, he said.
The family previously submitted themselves to the immigration authorities on
Feb. 13, when their provisional release status expired. The status was extended
for another two weeks through Friday so the family could prepare to leave
Japan.
A provisional release provides permission to stay in Japan based on certain
conditions and usually needs to be renewed every month. It allows foreign
nationals to remain in Japan temporarily and does not waive deportation orders
placed on them.
Calderon came to Japan in May 1993, a year after his wife did so. Both entered
the country on passports of different people and have overstayed their visas.
Noriko was born in 1995.
They filed a lawsuit seeking nullification of the deportation order against
them, but the Supreme Court rejected their petition in September.
==Kyodo
2009-02-27 22:54:07