A 29-year-old Albanian criminal has avoided being deported after a judge ruled that it would be too ‘harsh’ on his teenage stepson.
Dritan Mazreku, described as a ‘fit and healthy young man’, was jailed and faced deportation before a judge found it would be ‘unduly harsh’ on his stepson, who ‘remembers no other father’ and has ‘experienced abandonment before’.
The criminal arrived in the UK in 2014 and entered a relationship with a Latvian before taking on a ‘paternal role’ with the son she had from a former partner.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had argued for his deportation, claiming he could continue to support his stepson from Albania.
However, the judge said that online communication was ‘no substitute’ for physical presence.
Judge Phillips, who upheld the decision not to deport Mazreku, added the family is ‘relatively poor’ and it was a ‘remote possibility’ that they would be able to travel to Albania frequently.
‘There can be little doubt that regular visits to Albania would be unmanageable,’ the judge found.
‘[The ruling] was a logical conclusion based upon the fact that the family were being supported by [Mr Mazreku] at all times when he was in work and that his wife has only ever earned minimum wage.’
The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (pictured) found it would be too ‘harsh’ to deport Dritan Mazreku
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had argued for his deportation, claiming he could continue to support his stepson from Albania
The Albanian married his partner in 2017, which gave him the right to remain in Britain. He later had a ‘period of separation’ with the Latvian.
His stepson, who was five when Mazreku started a relationship with his mother in 2015, had ‘no relationship’ with his biological father.
After facing deportation a First Tier Immigration Tribunal ruled in his favour. The judge said that the relationship between Mr Mazreku and the teenager ‘has been genuine and subsisting since 2015 when they started to live together’.
The Home Office appealed the decision, arguing that the judge ‘erred in law’ and it was sent to the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
Lawyers representing the government told the Upper Tribunal that the reasoning ‘does not stand up to scrutiny’ and commented that the teen will still have his mother and grandmother to support him.
They said Mr Mazreku is a ‘fit and healthy young man’ who could continue providing support from Albania.
‘If [Mr Mazreku] and his family are in loving relationship he would continue to support them,’ they argued.
‘Limited weight can be given to the [Mr Mazreku] keeping his stepson safe bearing in mind his conviction.’
The Home Office unsuccesful appealed against a tribunal which ruled that the Albanian criminal could stay in the UK
They added the stepson was not supported during his time in prison.
Lawyers representing Mazreku said the judge’s decision ‘well reasoned’.
‘The judge makes it clear that the most important factor is that this is a child who has experienced abandonment before,’ the judgement said.
‘This is what makes the effect on him unduly harsh.’
‘[The judge] notes that throughout his incarceration and his separation from the child’s mother [Mr Mazreku] kept in contact,’ it added.
The tribunal found that the judge’s reasoning ‘cannot be described as inadequate’, despite Mrs Cooper’s intervention.
