Immigration snafu benches Surrey Little Leaguer

Canada will be without one of its top players at the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania this week as Dio Gama and his family await a review of their immigration status.

The Whalley Major Allstars, based in Surrey, will be without the 13-year-old outfielder after a federal judge ordered a review of the family’s case last month.

Gama, born in the United States to Mexican parents, has lived in Canada for three years. But the family’s case is complicated in part by a drugrelated charge and guilty plea by Dio’s father, Noe, that led to his deportation from the U.S. in 1997 and a 60-month prison term in Mexico.

“I think the issue is that his lawyers are advising that there’s a chance that they wouldn’t let Dio back into Canada [if he goes into the U.S.],” Whalley Little League president Gavin Burke told the Canadian Press.

“So that’s the issue. We’re not positive that Dio has the papers to get back into Canada.”

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen’s spokesman Mathieu Genest said in a statement that while he could not comment on any specific cases within his department, the minister’s office is “aware of the situation and it is currently under review.”

The Whalley Allstars tore through the competition at the national championship last week in Mirabel, Que., going 6-0 through the round-robin stage before downing Ontario 8-2 in a semifinal and Nova Scotia 11-0 in the title game on Saturday.

Gama was instrumental in the final — which was over after four innings because of the mercy rule — going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored to help give Whalley its sixth national title in program history and first trip to the Little League World Series since 2006.