Ten-year-old Tyrone Sevilla has been making headlines in Australia for weeks, but no one’s described his situation more succinctly than 11-year-old Ethan Egart, who asked the panel on popular current affairs show Q&A why his autistic friend must be deported to the Philippines?

“On the 27th of April, our government is going to deport a 10-year-old boy who is perfectly normal in every way,” said Egart. “He can read and ride a bike, but he has autism. I went to after-school care with this boy and he can’t speak, but he can use sign language to communicate with us. If he can get along with us and we can get along with him, why does he have to leave?”

Originally from the Philippines, Tyrone and his mother, Maria, have been living in Townsville, where she works as a nurse, for almost eight years. However, when she applied for a regional skilled workers visa—intended to attract people to areas lacking resources—the government deemed Tyrone a potential burden on Australia’s healthcare system; her visa application and subsequent appeals have been denied, and in five days they will be considered unlawful.

Community members have thrown their support behind the Sevillas, with a local GP practice vowing to treat Tyrone free-of-charge, until he turns 18, to help allay healthcare cost-related fears. And a Change.org petition, asking Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton to reverse the decision on compassionate grounds, has received more than 112,000 signatures so far.

Former ministerial secretary Andrew Robb, who saw similar cases during his tenure, says such a decision is within Dutton’s power. “There was not one [case where] I didn’t allow the young person with whatever disability to stay in the country,” he told the Q&A audience.

Uploaded By: SBS2Australia

Read more

Boy pleads with Q&A panel to stop deportation of friend with autism (Guardian)

Townsville mother and son, 10, face deportation due to boy’s autism diagnosis (ABC)

