Wicklow community launches petition to stop deportation of much-loved Georgian family

Irish Independent

3 days ago

The lives of Keti (28), Giorgi (33), and their four-year-old son were upended when Giorgi was arrested in June from the IPAS centre in Bray, where the family have been living, and taken to Cloverhill Prison. He has since been deported.
It is understood the family were to present themselves for deportation later that month having been denied asylum, but they said they had previously lodged an appeal hoping it would stay the deportation order.
Keti, a childcare worker who is employed at a creche in Greystones, is in the dark over when she and her son will be deported and a petition was launched by a close friend calling on the State to halt the deportation of Keti and her son, to allow Giorgi to return to Ireland, and for a fair, urgent review of their asylum appeal to be conducted.
In submitting the appeal in April, the family's solicitor included details of 'new evidence of danger in Georgia', and Alisa Lurchenko, who moved here from Ukraine 13 years ago and has Irish citizenship, said the family has been targeted by organised criminals in Georgia.
Since the deportation order was issued, Keti's father was physically attacked, which is 'a chilling confirmation of the risks they face, especially with a young child involved'.
Keti now fears for her son's safety if they are forced to return, as she believes these same criminals pose a direct threat to their lives. Their family, Alisa said, has been threatened by organised criminal groups but stressed they are not, nor ever have been, involved in crime
Alisa said that Keti has not been able to reveal to her son what has happened to his father, who was working as a driver for a construction company, when he asks, 'Where is daddy?', and has to say he's on holidays, because he doesn't understand why his father is no longer with them.
Both Keti and Giorgi were given permission to work in Ireland six months after they had applied for asylum. Keti then completed a QQI Level 5 Early Learning and Care course and was employed by the Greystones creche. They were both paying taxes and Keti was planning on undertaking the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Early Learning and Care.
Keti's employer provided a reference in support of her application, which stated she was a valued part of the team.
Concerns have also been raised for the family's son, who only speaks English, and is at a critical stage in his development and continuity of education and social surroundings are crucial.
When the case of Keti, Giorgi and their son was put to the Department of Justice, a spokesperson said the department was unable to comment on individual cases.
'The [Justice] Minister is committed to ensuring that Ireland's immigration system is robust, and rules-based,' the spokesperson said.
"The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that our people have confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.
'Department officials aim to process families in a holistic manner and the consideration of a child's immigration case is highly dependent on the status of their parents. Each child's circumstances are examined in detail before a deportation order is made and voluntary return is offered.
"If deportation orders are made against a family, the parents are informed of this and are required to engage with gardaí to make arrangements to leave Ireland with a timeframe. If a person does not comply with the order to leave the State within the timeframe they can be arrested and detained in order to make the arrangements for their deportation. Children are never detained.
'The Minister recognises that an enforced removal is an unfortunate and challenging experience for a child, which is why they are carried out only as a measure of last resort when the family concerned has not removed themselves from the State as they are legally required to.
'The preferred option is to return people voluntarily and the department operates a voluntary return programme to assist people to return prior to the issuance of a deportation order. This programme offers families a reintegration grant to help them resettle in their home countries.
"People are strongly encouraged to avail of this option and are informed of this option at each stage of the International Protection process, and when they are issued with an intention to deport under the Immigration Act 1999. The number of voluntary returns has increased by 195pc for the same period in 2024 (895 in 2025 and 303 up to 19 July 2024),' it concluded.
The petition to 'Stop the Deportation of Keti, Giorgi, and Their 4-Year-Old Son' can be found on change.org