Care home worker facing deportation feels 'broken' and says he fears for life in podcast

A care worker has spoken out about how he fears for his life after battling to protect care home residents from COVID-19, only to be told he faces deportation to Nigeria and must leave the country by 31 August.

Anugwom Goodluck has been forced to stop working for the care sector, he says, speaking as a guest on the 'Let's Talk About Care' podcast.

He had been ordered him to leave the UK by 31 July. But just two days before this deadline, (on 29 July) he was granted a short extension to his stay until 31 August.

Mr Goodluck says the Home Office decision has given him "sleepless nights" and left him in fear of his life.

Describing life in Nigeria, the care worker told carehome.co.uk:

“I am a Christian. There have been many, many cases of Christians killed by the terrorist group Boko Haram. I am a care worker. I love working in care. I did not even have time to say goodbye to the care home residents. I am broken."

Running from Boko Haram

Mr Goodluck who describes running for his life from bullets fired by Boko Haram jihadists in the podcast, decided to come to the UK on a Tier 4 student visa to study in 2018.

He graduated from the University of Sussex with an MA in International Relations in 2019. While studying, he also trained as a care worker.

Mr Goodluck's student visa was due to expire in 2020. He then put in an application for leave to remain (LTR) under human rights grounds, but this was rejected.

He reveals: “I have no means to support myself in Nigeria. I have no family in Nigeria. My grandmother had been living in Nigeria but she died in 2019.

“My siblings are British. I have just become an uncle and I will not be able to see my nephew. My mother is a nurse working in a hospital and when I speak to her about this she cries.

“She’s been heartbroken to be honest with you.”

Care work gives 'inner joy'

When his visa application was denied, the agency worker had to stop working in a Brighton care home immediately, despite the threat posed by COVID-19.

After washing, dressing, feeding, joking and even singing and dancing for care home residents, Mr Goodluck feels sad when he thinks of not seeing the residents again.

“It requires a lot of skill to really care for somebody because their life, their health lies in your hands. Any mistake you make can put them at risk.”

Care work, he says gives him “that inner joy that yes you’ve made an impact.”

He says caring for people in a care home during a pandemic was hard work but the Home Office decision “has affected my mental health”.

He has been told by the Home Office that he has no right to appeal the decision because he was unable to fly to Nigeria during lockdown within 28 days to appeal it.

The Home Office withheld his passport at the start of the year when he submitted it as part of his visa application.

When he spoke to carehome.co.uk, at the end of July, Mr Goodluck said he himself could not fly out of the country without it and he had not been told what would happen next.

Black Lives Matter campaigners call for Goodluck to stay

Over 23,000 people have signed a petition to have Mr Goodluck stay in the UK to pursue a career in the care sector.

Students at the University of Sussex have been penning letters to their local MP and Home Secretary Priti Patel to get the Home Office decision reversed.

With tweets bearing the words 'No Justice No Peace', Black Lives Matter campaigners are also demanding the care worker be allowed to stay in the UK. They are calling for people to flood the Home Secretary's inbox with requests for him to remain in the UK.

A Twitter account @StandwGoodluck has been set up and a GoFundMe page to help pay for Mr Goodluck's legal fees. It has raised over £1,500.

In July, the Home Secretary promised a more compassionate, “people first” approach to immigration to meet the recommendations of an independent review into UK government failures after the Windrush scandal.

Treat my case on 'compassionate' grounds

Mr Goodluck said if the Home Secretary were standing in front of him now:

“I would appeal to her to treat my case with compassionate grounds and allow me to remain in the UK… because looking at the support that I’ve received from people across Brighton and across the UK… it goes a long way to show that I’ve really made an impact on the community.

“With the contributions I’ve made I believe it’s right for them to allow me to remain. With my family being here…it’s going to be better for me to remain with my family.

“To send me back home with the rising cases of the pandemic in Nigeria puts me at risk. I worked in Brighton protecting people. Sending me to Nigeria to face the pandemic …is a harsh decision for them to take.

“If she approves it, I’m going to go back to Brighton and continue my work as a carer in a care home.

“Based on what she [the home secretary] said a few days ago that they’re going to have a compassionate policy with a ‘people first’ policy, I believe that she could start with my case.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are incredibly grateful for all the work that carers have done during coronavirus, which is why we have made them exempt from the immigration health surcharge.

“Those who are in the UK must follow the immigration rules – and that includes not continuing to work in the UK after applications for visas have been refused."

To follow Mr Goodluck's campaign you can visit:

Facebook: We Stand with Goodluck

Twitter: @StandwGoodluck

Instagram: @westandwithgoodluck