Becoming 18-years-old is a turning point for most teenagers growing up, however, for more than 2,500 teen asylum seekers, becoming 18 means deportation by the Home Office.
Figures released from Home Office minister and Old Bexley and Sidcup MP, James Brokenshire, to The Independent, show that 2,748 unaccompanied young asylum seekers have been sent back to Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria over the past nine years.
After a long battle we finally got data out of Home Office: thousands of former child asylum seekers returned pic.twitter.com/il2QEFY1HC
— The Bureau (@TBIJ) February 10, 2016
According to the report, 2,018 teens - many of whom have lived in the UK for most of their lives - were sent to Afghanistan where the Taliban still has a strong influence.
Information also shows that 60 teens were deported to Iraq since 2014, where ISIS has carved the country apart.
This figure rests against a backdrop of 657 deported Iraqi teens since 2007.
According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as Afghan teens turn 17-and-a-half-years-old, only one in five are granted asylum to stay in the country.
Due to an “error during the extraction process,” the November figures for teen refugees released by the Home Office suggested only 1,040 young children had been sent back to the war-torn countries.
The new data shows that one Syrian teen, four Libyan teens and 68 Iranian teens have also been deported since 2007.
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A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK government takes its responsibility in asylum cases involving children seriously and we have a long and proud history of offering sanctuary to those who genuinely need it.
“All applications to remain in the UK are considered on their individual merits, including an applicant's’ age, the length of time they have spent in the UK, their ability to reintegrate and any compelling or compassionate circumstances.
“We rightly expect those who are found not to need our protection to leave the UK. We will help those who wish to leave voluntarily, but when people with no right to be in the UK refuse to leave, we will take steps to enforce their removal.”
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