Judge grants stay of deportation to keep Mexican father with his young family in Montreal

A 22-year-old padre in Montreal has been granted a last-minute remain of deportation after a union soldier margaret court adjudicate ruled his removal could cause serious harm to his young family.

On Monday, the day before Miguel was set to present himself at the airport to be deported back to Mexico, a judge ruled he could remain in Canada for another three months, enough time to complete a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA), a last-ditch effort to prove that he faces threats to his life in Mexico. Before the stay of deportation was granted, Miguel would have been removed from Canada 10 days before he'd become eligible for the PRRA on May 16.

"It's a huge relief for the family, that will allow Miguel to access a PRRA," said the family's lawyer, Juliette Jan.

Miguel, an apprentice carpenter, is the couple's sole financial support and a key source of emotional stability for Andrea and their baby, according to a social worker assisting the family. Andrea is protected from deportation while she awaits a decision in her pre-removal risk assessment, which she applied for last year. The couple's baby was born in Canada.

Advocates at the Montreal Welcome Collective helping the family say this situation is an example of harsh tactics used by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in Quebec since the federal agency was mandated last year to increase deportations by a few thousand per fiscal year.

"We're seeing more people getting deportation notices, more family separations and the CBSA seems to be acting faster and more aggressively," said Maryse Poisson, who works at the Collective.

Canada deporting nearly 400 people a week, fastest pace in a decade

In 2025, deportations in the province well outpaced the rest of the country, rising above 10,000 — nearly half of total removals in Canada that year, according to CBSA statistics published online. Ontario, by comparison, had 8,700.

Anne-Cécile Khouri Raphaël, an immigration lawyer in Montreal and vice-president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, says family separation cases in particular are concerning to lawyers across the country.

"Whenever I talk about my cases with lawyers in other provinces, they're surprised," she said.

"It seems like it's incredibly normalized for CBSA to be dealing with these family separations. The only way that I can [understand it] is that they don't see these families like they see their own."

The combination of the rise in deportations and passing of a major immigration reform in late March, putting thousands in immigration limbo, has lawyers and advocates clamouring to prevent families from being separated. 

In her decision, the Federal Court judge, Justice Ekaterina Tsimberis, found that deporting Miguel this week would have caused irreparable harm due to his baby's heart condition, Andrea's past trauma and the fact that Miguel is the family's sole income-earner, so his removal could jeopardize their ability to meet basic needs.

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