The Church of Scotland has appealed to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to show "moral courage" and grant an orphaned boy permanent residence.
Giorgi Kakava, 11, is originally from Georgia but has lived in Glasgow since he was three. He faced deportation after his mother, Sopio, died last year following a long period of illness. She had been awaiting a decision on her appeal for asylum in the UK at the time of her death after fleeing Georgia over fears that gangsters might seek retribution for a debt by harming her son.
Following a campaign led by Church of Scotland minister the Rev Brian Casey, the Home Office granted Giorgi leave to remainin the UK until February 2020, while his grandmother and legal guardian, who is also from Georgia, has been allowed to remain until December next year.
The Church of Scotland said it was concerned that Giorgi, who starts high school in August, is facing the prospect of being deported to a country that is foreign to him in just eight months.
In a fresh call to Mr Javid, a Tory leadership candidate, Rev Casey asked him to look to his own family background - his parents are Pakistani immigrants - and act with compassion in the case of Giorgi.
In a letter to Mr Javid, he said: "The UK is renowned as a land of welcome and opportunity – a fact not lost on you as the son of an immigrant who came to this country and worked every hour he could to ensure that his children had the best.
"Your rise to the top of UK politics speaks volumes about the future immigration aspirations of the UK in seeking talented immigrants from non-EU countries.
"Georgia is one of those countries and I can assure you that Ketino is a hardworking and proud woman, a quality I admire greatly and one which has clearly been imbued in Giorgi.
"I would respectfully ask that you show the moral courage of leadership and urgently review this case and grant Giorgi and his grandmother permanent leave to remain in the UK."
He added: "In a year when this amazing boy starts high school, please show the public that you are as committed as your father was to see that those who come from humble beginnings can reach the pinnacle of their potential."
Tracy Kirk, a children's rights expert and law academic at Glasgow Caledonian University, believes Giorgi's rights are being breached and that it is "clearly" not in his best interests to be deported to a country he has no recollection of while still grieving the loss of his mother.
She accused the UK of ignoring the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it has signed.
"The Home Office seems to show an utter disregard for children's rights at every stage of their asylum and immigration processes," she said.
Ms Kirk met Giorgi and his grandmonther this week at Springburn Parish Church, where they both attend and where Rev Casey is the minister.
She said current Home Office procedures were causing children to feel "scared, anxious and uncertain".
"Put bluntly, the temporary reprieves which the Home Office seems to live by – delaying a decision on asylum by one year and then another and another is not children's rights compliant," she said.
"It is leading to children living in fear as to what will happen to them."
She added: "We cannot allow this to continue."
