Tokyo court stops deportation of Filipino man with child struggling with Down Syndrome

from Japan Daily Press by Maan Pamintuan:
The Tokyo District Court dismissed a deportation case filed against a Philippine national illegally residing in Japan. The 47-year old Filipino, who has a child with Down syndrome, was allowed to stay in the country to help the child receive the medical treatment needed.
Entering Japan illegally in 1997, the man was found by immigration authorities in 2009. The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau filed a deportation case in May 2012, which the man has sought to be nullified by the Tokyo District Court. His wife, who came into the country eight years after him has already acquired a permanent resident status. They have two children, with the youngest has Down syndrome and is going to a special school for the disabled. The child also needs thyroid medication treatment every three months.
Presiding judge Yutaka Taniguchi allowed the man to stay mainly due to the special needs of his child. He knew of the limited opportunities for “necessary treatment in the Philippines”, with minimal schools and teachers that offer specialized education, the kind that the man’s child needs. “There is a need to care properly for the child. But if the father is deported, the family he leaves behind will be in an extremely difficult position (financially),” he said. Though immigration officials noted that the child is already of age to adapt to life in the Philippines, the judge denied their argument and ruled in favor of the Filipino man.