COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Family fighting deportation
Moosomin residents will come together Thursday to raise funds for a popular family on the verge of being deported to Honduras after their asylum application was denied.
Victor Santos, his wife Lesi Cardoza and their two sons have lived in the town for two years, and the family has been based in Canada since 2011. Santos says he witnessed a journalist’s killing in Honduras and fled first to the U.S. in 2007, as he felt he himself would be killed as a result. However, Canadian authorities have turned the family’s claim down, owing to a perceived lack of evidence of the threat Victor faces.
With their appeals falling on deaf ears, Santos, Cardoza and their son Victor Jr. now have until July 5 to leave Canada. Their other son, Edward, is a Canadian citizen and thus not affected by the order, but could not be expected to remain in Canada on his own.
Russell Slugoski, a member of a committee that has long worked on the case, said his wife Yvonne, with help from local newspaper The World-Spectator, is organizing a lunch in the town to help the family as they try for a reprieve.
“It’s a rally of support, not only a luncheon,” he said, describing local reaction to the case as “overwhelming.” Victor works at Denray Tire in Moosomin, and Lesi is employed by Borderland Co-op.
“This is just another example of how this community always comes together,” Slugoski added. “No matter who I encounter, they only speak of support and compassion for this family. We always seem to respond in such admirable ways, and it will happen again for this family.”
With help from an immigration lawyer, the family has filed for residency based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, with an application for a stay on the deportation also lodged.
The office of Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale can, in theory, delay a deportation should the office of Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen need further time to examine it. However, Slugoski said the family has had no updates from authorities.
“The decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly,” Goodale’s office said by email.
“Everyone ordered removed from Canada is entitled to due process before the law and all removal orders are subject to various levels of appeal. Once individuals have exhausted all legal avenues of appeal/due process, they are expected to respect our laws and leave Canada or be removed.”
Hussen’s office said in an emailed statement that it was “not at liberty to discuss case-specific information.”
In recent times the northern triangle of Central America has become one of the world’s bloodiest regions, with thousands fleeing gang-based violence in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador each year.
The Santos family fundraiser lunch — $10 a plate and donations suggested — will be held at Moosomin Legion Hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.