A new retrospective law passed on Wednesday ensures that 7-year old Im and her mother can return to Denmark.
Except from Dansk Folkeparti, all the parties in the Danish Parliament agreed on wednesday 13 Novcember on a new law which will make it possible for 7-year old Im and her mother Suthida to come back to Denmark after being deported on Monday November 11.
Back in October the District Court of Hjorring decided to uphold the Immigration Service’s decision, ruling Im Nielsen’s was more connected to Thailand than Denmark following the death of her stepfather Johnny Nielsen back in 2012.
The law means that people with permission to stay in Denmark, who end up in the same situation as Im did, will be treated after the same rules.
The law will work retrospective two years back and will take effect with an open window on six months, where persons in similar situations have the chance to seek for having their case reconsidered.
“It is a solution that points forward and looks backwards,” said Minister of Justice Morten Bødskov.
“It makes sense for us to choose a limit of two years of retrospective, because it ensures that the person who used to be in Denmark, did show a strong intent to integrate in the Danish society,” he added.
Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen from the left-winged party Enhedslisten was happy that Im Nielsen can now return to Denmark, but she called the law “hyper flexible” – warning that the law that can be applied almost anyway you want.
“It’s an improvement of the existing law, but it is a “elastic law,” she said.
Im Nielsen speaks only Danish and she lived most of her life in the city of Aabybro in the Northern Denmark with her mother, and her Danish husband, who died from cancer in 2012.
However, now Im and her mother can legally go back to Denmark.
As the only party in the parliament who said no to the law, Dansk Folkeparti called it a “rush job”.
“We asked the government, whether they tried to find other options for Im and her mother to stay before this suggestion was passed, and they didn’t.”
“We think it is bad work to vote for a new law that you don’t know the consequences from yet,” said Martin Henriksen, the party’s spokesman for immigration affairs.
Read also previous stories on the case
