...Dismissing his appeal, the immigration tribunal judge said: "His experience [criminal activity] will make him more street wise than someone of a similar age who has led a crime-free and more conventional life. These experiences will place him at a distinct advantage in dealing with the circumstances in Somalia and should make it much easier for him to avoid pitfalls."
The judge, James Simpson, said Mr Mohamed's ability to speak English would help him find work and said his family ties here were not strong. But Mr Mohamed said he has always seen himself as British: "The first I knew that I wasn't British was when the judge said I was to be deported after serving my sentence. I couldn't apply for citizenship because I was only a little boy when I came here. I am British not Somalian. I know nothing about Somalia."
Mr Mohamed has been held in an immigration detention centre for 16 months awaiting deportation. Three attempts to fly him to Somalia have been postponed and his family is worried about his physical and mental health. Nothing has been done to regularise his immigration status in Britain, so his criminal record made him liable to detention and deportation under laws for foreign criminals.
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