Stop the Deportation of Ricardo Fisher

We the undersigned call on the Australian Immigration Department to release Ricardo Fisher from detention and return him to his family here in Australia.
Ricardo Fisher, who has been held in detention since June 2006.

We have been fighting as Citizens of this country to have our son's visa reinstated but DIMIA has advised us that it is not in the public interest to do so.
Ricardo is a product of this country and has integrated into the Australian society from the age of 6 years old. He has been educated by Australia – has worked for Australia and his entire family live and work in Australia and have been doing so for the past 23 years. How can the Government justify this?

How can they say that it is in the Public Interest to resettle the Guantanamo Detainees and, on the other hand – try to deport Ricardo Fisher to a country that has not been legally recognized by Australia? They are sending him to an uncertain future, to a country that he is not familiar with and are completely and totally ignoring his right to freedom and the right to be with his family. Australia has been trying to encourage its people to be a strong family unit, are paying for its citizens to have babies to try to build Australia and then turning around and not taking responsibility.

Ricardo is like every other Australian child who has been raised here – he is not perfect and has broken the law – but he has been punished for this and has paid for his crimes – why is he being punished further and more cruelly, why is his family being made to suffer more?

Justice needs to be done. Please help us wrong this right and help us keep our rights to freedom and our rights to be with our family. Family unity is our pillar of strength and like every other family we deserve to be united as one.

Emma Fisher