Immigration authorities issued the decision on Thursday and informed the group of seven on Friday, according to Robert Tibbo, an attorney representing them.
“I’m really upset” said Philippine national Vanessa Rodel, one of the seven applicants tells TIME. “I’m very afraid, I’m worrying a lot. In Hong Kong, once your case is rejected, you’re not allowed to stay.” Rodel said she feared being detained and separated from her young, Hong Kong-born daughter.
“The government’s decision to reject our clients’ claims is completely consistent with the effective zero acceptance rate [of asylum seekers] in Hong Kong,” Tibbo tells TIME, calling the decision “completely unreasonable.” He says authorities only gave each of the seven refugees “brief screening interviews” and, in Rodel’s case, only conducted screening in writing.