Who am I?

My name is Freya Roberts, sister of Darrel and Darren Roberts who are facing deportation to two separate countries. Neither of my brothers have ever left the UK  -they were raised within the British Care system. 

What's at stake?

Darrel and Darren were born and raised in Ealing, London, but the Home Office now wants to deport them to two separate countries after they have served their prison sentences. This is an inhuman form of double punishment. 

The twins' father was born in the Dominican Republic and their mother was born in Grenada. Darrel has been issued a deportation notice by the Home Office to be sent to the Dominican Republic - a Caribbean island that he nor anyone in our family have connections to. Meanwhile, Darren has been told that at the end of his sentence he would be deported to Grenada, his mother's birth country.

Darrel and Darren's story

When the twins were aged 10, their mother sadly passed away from cancer. Our father had left the UK at this time. Darrel and Darren were placed in the care of their uncle on their mother's side but he too unfortunately passed away a year later from cancer also. 

Both of my brothers (now aged 12) were then placed in foster care by Ealing Council. Both twins had temporary foster homes, however, the inconsistent care and guidance led them astray. 

Ealing Council have said they were aware that Darrel and Darren were not naturalised and failed to follow through with ensuring both of the twins had their British citizenship. This has prevented Darrel and Darren from going into further education, getting jobs and now they are facing deportation charges, even though the UK is their home and only country they have ever known. 

Ealing council had a duty of care to ensure my older brothers were protected by their home country, and would be able to have the same opportunities in life as their counterparts. It is preposterous to expect a child to know whether they have a National Residency. 

The threat of deportation

Darrel served his sentence and was due for release on May 15^th 2020 but five days before his release he was issued with a deportation notice to the Dominican Republic. He was heartbroken when he was told that after serving his time he would be facing a double punishment for a fault not of his own as this was a duty of the parent/guardian to ensure naturalisation for children in care.

Darren is convicted of other charges unrelated to Darrel’s, and is serving the rest of his sentence in London. Darren is a father to a five-year-old son, who once he has finished his sentence will apply himself to being an active and consistent father figure. However, currently he is living under the threat of deportation to Grenada, although he has not yet been served an official notice.

What are we doing about it?

My siblings and I are disturbed and sit uncomfortably at the thought of our brothers being separated from each other and their immediate family here. We are forced to take legal action to keep them in the UK, which is their place of birth, where they they grew up and went to school - their home.

Please support us by making a donation and sharing the page far and wide. Your support in helping us fight this racial injustice occurring in Britain is greatly appreciated!

We are now raising money:

• To investigate our family history. (This will trace back through our family line and make the connection to Windrush - yet another example of the horrifying uncertainty of the Windrush generation and their families!)
• To request the care records from Ealing Social Services
• To request records from Home Office 
• To instruct Counsel to take on this case

Next steps

We have instructed leading immigration and human rights lawyer Smita Bajaria to take on Darrel's case and fight his deportation order. This will then help us to fight Darren's case. We will keep you updated with progress or information on either cases. 

Thank you for taking your time to read this and also thank you for your donations towards ensuring my brothers and their legal team have a fair chance to secure their British Citizenship.