A WOMAN who has been in Scotland since she was 13 faces a battle to stay in the country. 
Chennan Fei, 28, from Hamiltonhill, in the north of Glasgow, came to Scotland with her parents when they had student visas.
Last week she was taken from her home in Glasgow to Home Office immigration detention centres and faced being sent to China.
Ms Fei attended secondary school here and graduated from university in Edinburgh, funded by her parents, and has lived in Glasgow ever since.
It emerged her parents had overstayed their visa period, but before then, Ms Fei had become estranged from them both and had been living in Hamiltonhill in the north of the city until last week.
She was detained and taken to Dungavel in Lanarkshire then Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, in Bedfordshire, until she was released last night and allowed to return to Glasgow.
Glasgow North East SNP MP, Anne McLaughlin, is campaigning to stop her being removed and for her to be allowed to stay in Glasgow.
She said Ms Fei’s situation is not of her making and she should be allowed to live in Scotland.
Not allowed to work, she has been volunteering with community groups and refugee support centres using her accountancy degree to offer assistance.
In a statement written when she was in Yarl’s Wood, Ms Fei said she felt trapped and wants to return home to Scotland. She said: “It’s a strange feeling. Although they say it’s not a prison, I am trapped. My mind and my body wants to be liberated. I can’t seem to remember much from the last few days, and this agonising feeling just grows stronger every passing day. 
“Being here is mind numbing, I see others losing track of the date and time. 
“I just hope I don’t have to stay here too long. I want to come home to Scotland.”
Her case will now go for Judicial Review to decide if she can stay.
Ms McLaughlin said: “Chennan is respected and cherished within her community which she actively volunteers within. I’m delighted that she is on her way home to Scotland. 
“Although, this is not the end of her legal battles, I hope the contribution of this young woman who has grown up in Glasgow will be valued and recognised by the decision makers in her case. Chennan is now 28-years-old and has lived more than half her life in Scotland. 
Although here almost 15 years living in the UK may not be considered ‘legal’, this is through no fault of Chennan’s. 
“She is blameless.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and every case is assessed on its individual merits and in line with immigration rules.
“If someone is found not to need our protection we expect them to leave the UK.
“We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”