## Article: At the Front Line of Immigration Control Administration (voice of an immigration control officer in charge of deportation) (Deportation Department, Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau: Norimasa Yamada)

As an immigration control officer, I am engaged in the work of deporting those foreign nationals for whom deportation has been determined and consequently against whom a deportation order has been issued.

To be specific, upon presenting a written deportation order to the foreign national, as soon as a valid passport necessary for the deportation, an airline ticket to the destination of deportation and the baggage, etc. of the deportee are ready, my work is to escort the deportee to the airport, have them board the plane, and to confirm their departure. In some cases, the deportee does not have a valid passport or is not able to get their baggage or airline ticket ready, and so in this kind of case, the Japanese immigration control officer helps with the preparations to return home, for example, to go to the embassy, etc. in Japan of the deportee and to apply for a temporary passport for return home (a passport which may be used once in order to return home), to raise funds for the expenses to return home, and to request related persons make arrangements for the baggage. However, in many cases there are struggles in arranging for the return even when the person wishes to return as soon as possible since it is sometimes difficult to get in touch with the relevant people or because there is a significant delay in the arrangements for the baggage.

Meanwhile, there are many foreign nationals against whom a written deportation order has been issued who do not wish to be deported and resist complying with the deportation. With such people, it is essential to convince them to return home of their own will by tenaciously conducting interviews, to rid them, as much as possible, of the fears of returning home and of the obstacles to their deportation. I myself talk in the interviews not only about matters which are simply related to my duties, but strive to listen carefully to what the other party has to say however trivial, and where possible, continue to try and convince the person to return home of their own volition. If they still refuse to be deported, the immigration control officer may escort the foreign national to the country, which is the destination of deportation, using an aircraft or vessel and hand him or her over to the local authorities, and in some cases, deportees will be deported en masse using a chartered flight. Moreover, various problems arise when using ordinary commercial aircraft or vessel since the deportees are onboard with other ordinary passengers or the flight may be long, and since there is also the possibility that the deportee will attempt to resist, I practice my arrest techniques on a daily basis and strive not to neglect my training as an escort officer so that I will be able to conduct the deportation safely and reliably no matter what the circumstances.

Deportation work is important work conducted at the final stage of the deportation procedures, and until the deportation is achieved, the procedures for foreign nationals against whom a written deportation order has been issued are not complete. I hope to continue to maintain the awareness that I am engaged in such important work and will continue to strive to properly perform the work in the future.