American expelled from UK 'like a criminal'

Published on Saturday 11 April 2009 20:13

A "SENSELESS" bureaucratic blunder has resulted in the deportation of a talented young American who was helping to earn thousands of pounds for the Scottish economy.

Michael Merillo was attracted to stay and work in Scotland under the government's Fresh Talent scheme, excelling in a key job with the Scottish Book Trust.

But the 30-year-old was kicked out of the country like a "criminal" last week by UK immigration authorities on the basis that he was earning 90p a week too little, potentially under-cutting local workers.

The Scottish Book Trust said last night it was "enraged" at the loss of Merillo, adding the decision had cost it around 5,000 in lost revenue and staff cover.

Merillo, from Phoenix, Arizona, came to Scotland to study at Napier University, Edinburgh under the Fresh Talent scheme, which was introduced by Jack McConnell's Labour administration to plug the skills gap. He was allowed to stay and work in Scotland for at least two years.

Merillo was hired by the Scottish Book Trust, which promotes books to adults and children and supports writers with bursaries, as a venue manager.

Through promoting use of the agency's building, Sandeman House, Edinburgh, for conferences and parties, Merillo is thought to have quadrupled its venue hire income and increased annual attendance from 2,000 to 7,000 visitors.

But new immigration rules introduced south of the border meant that when Merillo applied for a three-year extension he was told he did not have enough points to remain in the UK and would have to leave within a week.

Despite having a masters degree, company sponsorship and funds in his bank account, his 19,000-a-year wage meant Merillo earned too little to qualify. Merillo believes if he had earned just 90p a week more he would have passed the test.

Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, said: "All the figures show that he brought in huge amounts of extra business to us through the hires of the building.

"He's bringing in thousands of pounds a year. He is an important part of our income and public profile.

"By our salary calculations he should have easily had enough points to stay.

They treated him like a criminal.

"I'm enraged. It just doesn't make any sense."

"What we are seeing with Michael is a new policy identifying the wrong people."

Merillo, a former theatre technician, told Scotland on Sunday he had moved to the country because it was the festivals capital of the world, and stayed because of its Fresh Talent initiative.

Merillo added: "I defined myself jokingly as the capitalist backbone of the Book Trust, because I started bringing in money for the venue. It's a wonderful venue, with great potential. It was great for them to have someone dedicated to venue hire.

"Sales increased, business increased and the number of people interacting with the Book Trust increased because I was there to get them in and out of the building."

Merillo, now back in Phoenix, is in the process of applying for a new visa and for his old job but there is no guarantee he will be successful.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency would not comment on the case. However, she insisted immigration controls are "flexible".

She said: "We are determined to use that flexibility to ensure that we are doing the right thing by British workers and for the long-term stability of the economy."

Last night opposition parties called for an investigation into the case.

Pauline McNeill, Labour's external affairs spokeswoman, said: "It is sad to hear we have lost someone so valuable. Fresh Talent was a great initiative of the last administration. This case seems to cut across the whole point of the exercise, which was designed to try to keep skilled people who want to remain in Scotland because we need their skills.

"This seems to be an unfortunate result and we need to look at it to see whether we need to adjust the new points system."