Just an hour before leaving for the airport, an Indian family who fear being killed if they return to their country escaped deportation last Saturday after narrowly winning a temporary residence permit.
“I was just about to finish our luggage. I was very stressed, my children were crying. Then I got the phone call that changed my life: our deportation was cancelled,” Mr. Singh says happily over the phone.
He is still asking that his first name not be given out of fear of reprisals as procedures are pending regarding his status in Canada.
The 39-year-old farmer traveled to Canada with his wife, Ms. Kaur, in 2017. In his country, he was arrested, tortured and given death threats by Punjab police after he unknowingly hired a worker on his farm. He was wanted by the authorities for terrorism.
asylum denied
However, the couple’s asylum application, which has since settled in Montreal and has given birth to two Canadian children, was denied, largely due to a lack of credibility. The deportation was scheduled for Saturday night despite fears of being killed entering India.
According to an article in the Journal last week, Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe took matters into his own hands, multiplying moves with the federal government.
“We have a gentleman who is afraid of being killed. His two children were born here, they are Canadian and have no idea what India is like. It’s quite an incredible human drama. I didn’t think it made any sense,” explains the Lac-Saint-Jean member.
Immigration Secretary Sean Fraser himself intervened this weekend to allow the Indian couple to be granted temporary residency.
The document issued to Mr Singh and Ms Kaur at midnight minus one allows them to reside legally in Canada for one year.
Meanwhile, a new humanitarian application is being processed and the young parents can take steps to obtain permanent residency, their attorney, Me Miguel Mendez, explains.
I Miguel Mendez, Immigration Attorney at Etude Légale Stewart Istvanffy Erika Aubin / JdeM
Optimistic for the future
Although the fight isn’t quite over, Mr Singh is optimistic about the future.
“I feel like my life is safe. My children’s future is secure and I now have the chance to live in a beautiful country without threats,” he lists them all and thanks everyone who has helped him over the past week.
The distribution center worker who was ironically due to be expelled on Canada Day is now using the holiday to spend time with his children, ages 2 and 4.
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