I was actually depressed': France tries to deport immigrant students

Dozens of students in Saint-Denis, a low-income Paris suburb, graduate from technical high schools but some receive Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Francais (OQTF) deportation orders instead of job offers. Mariem, 19, studying medicine through a two-year BTS vocational degree, received an OQTF after a notification that a letter was waiting at the post office. Mohammed, 19, enrolled in a two-year BTS in electrical engineering, received an OQTF stating he lacked the proper visa because he entered on a tourist visa and claiming he was not enrolled, which he says is false. French immigration experts and school staff indicate that exemptions intended to protect students training for hard-to-staff jobs are not preventing some deportation orders.

"In Saint-Denis, a gritty northern suburb of Paris and one of France's poorest areas, dozens of children of immigrants are graduating from technical high schools. But instead of getting job offers, some are receiving deportation orders. In April, Mariem*, 19, who is studying medicine as part of a two-year vocational degree known as a BTS, received a text message notification that a letter was waiting for her at the post office. When she went to pick it up, she discovered it was an Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Francais, or OQTF, a deportation order."

"I was sad. I didn't know what to do. I think I was actually depressed, said Mariem, who arrived in France from Tunisia in 2019 at the age of 12. She had studied for seven years in middle school and a technical high school, she told Al Jazeera. Mohammed*, 19, faces a similar situation. Currently enrolled in a two-year BTS programme in electrical engineering, he arrived in France from Morocco at the age of 14 along with his family."

"In September, he returned from vacation to a similar letter. The OQTF, delivered by France's Ministry of the Interior, informed him that he did not hold the proper visa to study since he arrived on a tourist visa. The letter also claimed Mohammed was not enrolled in school, which he said was false. I was shocked, disappointed, Mohammed said. I sat outside on a chair just staring. I kept asking myself why. What did I do?"

"For this story, Al Jazeera spoke with five high school students, school staff and French immigration experts who confirmed that despite exemptions designed to protect students training to fill some of France's most difficult and understaffed jobs, including certain medical fields, some high schoolers of immigrant backgrounds are being ordered to le"

Read at www.aljazeera.com