A MARRIED COUPLE who were separated after bogus claims they had entered into a sham marriage will be reunited before Christmas.
Kleber Medeiros was living with his wife Harriett Bruce in Ballinasloe, Galway, when he was deported to Brazil in July.
Despite the HSE sending Bruce an official letter stating that the sham marriage claims were unfounded, her husband had already been sent back to South America. Both parties had to be in Ireland to get their affairs in order but, as Medeiros was subject to a deportation order, he could not return.
But after months of campaigning to get her husband back, it emerged today that the couple will be back together in Ireland in the coming days.
Writing on Facebook, Harriett said she was delighted that her husband was returning home.
She wrote: “Kleber and I would like to thank everyone for all your calls, text messages, champagne, flowers, chocolates, biscuits and cards.
The support is unbelievable
“Excited is an understatement. We’ve no words to describe how happy we both are. This has been a very challenging few months but I gave it my all and eventually we got the justice we both deserve.”
Sinn Feín Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh welcomed the decision of the Minister for Justice to revoke the deportation order enforced against Medeiros.
He said: “I am delighted that the Minister has reversed her decision and that Kleber is now free to return home for Christmas.
“I was happy to play a small part in the campaign and I believe that bringing Harriett Bruce and other family members to Leinster House to put their case to TDs and Senators was crucial in that process.
It is fantastic that the pressure has worked and that the deportation order has been revoked.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie in October, Bruce described how the couple’s lives had been turned upside down.
She said: “All I want is my husband to be able to come back to Ireland. We have done nothing wrong. We’ve known each other for years. We’ve been together for three years. We had hundreds of people turn up at our wedding.
“Our marriage has been recognised by the church but not by the State.
There’s no protection in our country for people from different countries, cultures and races that fall in love and wish to marry.
“It’s my constitutional right to marry Kleber.
“There’s so much stress being put on us. We’ve only just got married. We shouldn’t be going through this. But if anything, it’s made us stronger.”
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