No comment from the Minister as deportation looms for 17-year-old Oscar
"The case is still under appeal," says Jakob Birgisson, assistant to the Minister of Justice, in an interview with mbl.is. Composite image
The Minister of Justice will not comment on the case of 17-year-old Oscar Anders Florez Bocanegra, a Colombian teenager facing deportation from Iceland. According to her aide, the case remains under appeal and falls outside the minister’s direct involvement.
Oscar's story has sparked public outrage, with dozens protesting outside the Ministry of Justice yesterday morning. The teenager, who fled Colombia with his father in 2022 after receiving threats from criminal groups, is facing deportation for the second time, despite concerns about his safety and well-being.
A troubled past and a fragile present
Oscar’s situation is complex. Reports suggest that his father was abusive and relinquished custody. After initially being denied asylum, both were deported in October 2024. Upon their return to Colombia, Oscar’s father abandoned him at the airport. Alone and just 16 years old at the time, Oscar survived a month on the streets of Bogotá before his Icelandic foster family brought him back to Iceland.
Now, he faces deportation again, this time without the chance for a new legal hearing. His application was dismissed as a “repeat case.”
“The case is still under appeal,” said Jakob Birgisson, assistant to Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir, in an interview with mbl.is . “She has no involvement in individual cases that are still being processed.”
"He wants to stay with us. He can't imagine being anywhere else. We are his family," says Oscar's foster mother. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
An appeal for humanity
Oscar’s foster family has appealed the decision, but this does not halt the deportation process. His deadline to leave the country voluntarily expired yesterday. His foster mother, Sonja Magnúsdóttir, says the family is living in fear, uncertain when or how the deportation might be carried out.
“He is deeply distressed,” she said. “His friends are taking shifts staying with him so he won’t be alone.”
The family worries he could be removed from the country in the middle of the night, just as he was last time, when he was picked up from a school bathroom in Hafnarfjörður.
“He wants to stay with us. He can’t imagine being anywhere else. We are his family,” Magnúsdóttir added. “You don’t give up when your child is in danger. And we see him as one of our own. We’re not going to send him out to die.”
Medical concerns raised
Oscar’s lawyer submitted an urgent appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board yesterday, requesting a postponement of the deportation until the appeal can be heard. The appeal includes medical opinions from specialists at the National Hospital’s child and adolescent psychiatric department and doctors at Hringurinn, the Children’s Hospital. They strongly warn that deportation would severely impact Oscar’s mental health.
Despite these warnings, the Directorate of Immigration only contacted the lawyer yesterday, hours before the deadline, to ask if Oscar needed assistance leaving the country.
An uncertain future
Oscar remains in limbo. While his legal team and foster family continue to fight for his right to stay in Iceland, the threat of immediate deportation still hangs over him.
His story is now resonating with the public, raising uncomfortable questions about how immigration laws are applied — and whether compassion is being overlooked in the name of procedure.
