A 42-year-old Turkish mother of three and longtime resident of Denmark has been in a detention center for the last month fearing deportation, despite the family and life she had built in her adopted country.
"I haven't gotten a wink of sleep here," Şükran Demirtaş told Anadolu Agency by phone this week from the center.
"I'm worried about my boys and my husband. I miss my home. I want to be with my family."
Demirtaş has lived in Denmark since 2006, and her husband Mehmet has worked there since 1999. They have three sons, two of them now young adults.
Despite her roots in her adopted homeland, her applications for a residence permit have been rejected several times over the last decade.
After her last application was denied, Şükran was taken to the Ellebaek detention center on Oct. 3.
"I'm in a difficult situation and I want to be with my children. I have a 9-year-old child and he needs me. My family needs me. Please help me," said Demirtaş, pleading with Turkish authorities to help her stay in Denmark.
If Şükran is deported, she would not be allowed to get a Schengen visa for five years to visit her husband and sons.
Her child Gürkan Demirtaş, 9, said: "I miss my mother very much and I want her back."
Desperate, her family started an online campaign to pressure Danish authorities to grant her residency.
Denmark is among a number of European countries that have tightened their immigration policies.
