Two Edmonton families facing imminent deportation, one to Mexico and the other to the Philippines, have received compensation.
Families, both with young children, have made public safety concerns in recent weeks if they are to return to their home countries.
Luis Ubando Nolasco, Cinthya Carrasco Campos and their eight- and nine-year-old daughters were due to go on a flight to Mexico on Monday.
The family fled to Canada in 2018 and sought refugee protection after the homicide of a family member. The government rejected their requests to stay and they were ordered to leave the country.
But the couple says Saturday they met with Edmonton Center MP and federal Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, who told them their deportation had been put on hold and they should not leave.
“I fell to the ground. I cried a lot,” Ubando Nolasco said Monday.
Carrasco Campos added that they are grateful to all those who have intervened to offer support.
“I appreciate your help for me and my family. It’s … good news. Yes. I feel good,” he said.
The couple said they confirmed with CBSA that their deportation is stopped at the moment, but said they are now waiting for more information. CBC News has asked CBSA for comments on the case.
2nd deportation pending
The July 8 deportation of Evangeline Cayanan, whose six-year-old Canadian daughter McKenna would be forced to turn her back on in the Philippines, is also pending, Cayanan’s lawyer confirmed on Sunday .
Cayanan came to Canada in 2010 as a temporary foreign worker. She alleges that she remained undocumented after reporting two employers for alleged abuses.
After the birth of his daughter, he raised her alone and became an activist. He won an award from the John Humphrey Center for Peace and Human Rights for his work fighting for access to health care for the children of undocumented parents.
Cayanan is also a volunteer for Migrant Alberta, supporting migrant workers.
Demonstration of supporters
Migrant Canada and its Alberta chapter have supported Cayanan and his family.
The two families have been in contact with the Boissonnault office for the past few weeks.
“To say it was a stressful time for the Nolasco family is an understatement,” Boissonnault said in a statement Monday.
“Thanks to our team that works quickly with Immigration Canada, the family and their children will stay in Canada and in our community. Today is a good day.”
Boissonnault confirmed that he has also met with Cayanan and works with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, but said he could not comment further on the case due to privacy issues.
Applications to stay pending
Both families have asked the federal government for a leave of absence to remain in Canada for humanitarian and compassionate reasons.
Cayanan has argued that in the Philippines, her daughter would not have access to the health services she currently receives in Canada. Cayanan also fears retribution for his activism and public criticism of the country’s government if he returned.
Ubando Nolasco and his family have presented evidence that they would be in danger if they returned to Mexico. After his brother was murdered in 2018, Ubando Nolasco began receiving threats and money demands from an unknown person or group. The homicide remains unresolved.
While speaking to CBC on Monday, the family was struggling to find a new place to live and clean the apartment where they had been living before the deportation.
CBSA asked them to prepare to leave, so many of their belongings had already been given away and arrangements had been made to move from their current location.
Both parents work: Ubando Nolasco as a welder and Carrasco Campos in web design. They say they were able to keep their job now that they stay.
As hectic and emotional as they have been in recent weeks, Ubando Nolasco said the family said he generally just feels relieved.
“We need to move to a new place to create a new adventure for our family and start all over again,” he said.