Deportation of refugee's family halted after last-minute federal intervention

A federal soldier government minister has stepped in to temporarily kibosh the deportation of a Montreal padre and boy, a last-minute decision the family's lawyer says underscores growing concerns that Canadian authorities are increasingly and abruptly separating the families of recognized refugees.

Immigration lawyer Stewart Istvanffy welcomed the decision, crediting Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree for stepping in, but said the case raises concerns about how such removals are being pursued in the first place.

"I'm very pleased that the Minister of Public Safety has intervened to keep this family together and that they recognize that some kind of a serious mistake has been made," Istvanffy said Sunday.

"But I'm really dismayed at the immigration bureaucracy choosing to violate our Charter and fundamental rights and I want there to be some kind of a political intervention to make sure that I don't have to be doing the same type of thing next month."

Maryse Poisson of the Montreal Welcome Collective said she has seen two similar cases in the past week.

"We're getting reactions from lawyers all over Canada who are saying, 'It goes against the advice every legal counsel has been giving families for years,'" Poisson said. "To our knowledge, this is unprecedented."

"It's a sharp break with previous practices," Istvanffy said.

Refugees are not allowed to return to their home country while awaiting permanent residency, and Chauhan and his son would be unlikely to obtain visas to return to Canada if deported. Permanent residency delays in Quebec are about 10 years, according to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) processing times website.

On Thursday, in response to Istvanffy's request to defer Chauhan and his son's removal, a Canada Border Services (CBSA) agent wrote that "invoking the best interests of the children does not represent sufficient grounds on its own to justify deferring a removal."

The agent said Istvanffy had not provided enough evidence to show how Chauhan's son would suffer from being separated from his mother for at least six years and that the family could stay in touch "by telephone or through social media, if they so desire," or could travel to a third country for a visit "in an effort to maintain and nurture their relationship."

Chauhan and his wife met and fell in love while she was caring for his mother as a nurse. They married five years later in 2020. The family relies on Chauhan's job at a Montreal Tim Hortons, while his wife, who continues to suffer pain and trauma from her experiences in India, cares for their son.

"Sometimes at night she cries. I care for her. I take care of her," Chauhan said. "If I'm not here, who will take care of my wife?"

Reached by phone Sunday, Chauhan said the deferral was "good news" but that he would be meeting with Istvanffy later in the day to hear more and was worried about what could happen in a month. "My son and my wife are very stressed," he said.

In response to a request for comment before the government's intervention, a CBSA spokesperson wrote in emailed statement Friday, that a decision from the immigration ministry or refugee board granting someone protected status "does not automatically make their family members protected persons nor does it make them immune from removal proceedings."

Earlier this month, La Presse reported the case of a Mexican mother in Quebec who was set to be deported despite her spouse having protected person status and the couple having a 20-month-old son who was born in Canada. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab intervened at the last minute to stop the woman's removal while she was awaiting departure at the Montreal airport last week.

Advocates are calling on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to create a policy to prevent similar family separations.

In an emailed statement Thursday, IRCC spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald said decisions to remove people from Canada are "not taken lightly."

"Every individual facing removal is entitled to due process, but once all avenues to appeal are exhausted, they are removed from Canada in accordance with Canadian law," MacDonald wrote.

Last year, the CBSA pledged to remove an additional 4,000 people by 2027.

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