According to the Brisbane Times, a Filipino mother has lived in Brisbane for more than a decade. Now, facing the fate of being repatriated, she is trying to keep her family together.
Bernadette Romulo has been trying to appeal against federal government's decision to repatriate her for the past five months. Once she is repatriated, she will be forced apart from her 8-year-old son, Giro.
The young child was born in Australia because of his father's partial detention agreement, which prevented him from leaving Australia.
Romulo, who came to Australia on a 457 visa in 2006, was with her first husband and two daughters, now 12 and 13. After that, the couple's marriage broke up.
The elderly nurse later gave birth to Gino, with an Australian man. They separated in 2012, and Romulo began applying for permanent residence.
Since December, when Romulo's application for permanent residence was rejected, she has held a bridge visa, which expires on Thursday.
Every time the bridge visa expires, Romulo says, Giro is anxious and weeping at night. "he would take my hand, as if I were going to disappear the next day. It's really sad. We don't know what's going to happen at home. I've been single since I was separated from Gino's father, and I've made a lot of sacrifices to stay with my family. "
According to the Office of Homeland Affairs Secretary Peter Dutton, the matter is now handled by the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Affairs, Alex Hawke.
Hawke's office said in a statement that the matter was being fully evaluated by the Department of Homeland Affairs.
"the deputy minister will only intervene in some cases of exceptional circumstances. It is not appropriate now to explain the details of this case. "
Romulo has collected more than 30, 000 signatures from its online petition campaign, calling for Dutton to step in and keep her in Australia.
"my son is only eight years old, and he needs my care and guidance. Even if they just let me stay here until the child turns 16, it doesn't matter to me, then I have more sense of security, and by then the child can live on his own. If they really don't want me to stay here, at least give me some time to raise the baby. "