Salvadorean refugee claimant, Jose Figueroa, a married father of three who has lived in Canada for 13 years, has been ordered deported by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) due to his past affiliation with the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN), currently the governing political party in El Salvador.
This was based on the Canadian Border Security Agency's (CBSA) assessment that the FMLN "is or was engaged in terrorism and/or subversion" and on coinciding legal arguments from the Ministry of Public Safety.
The case sets a very dangerous precedent, given among other things the internationally recognized legitimacy of the FMLN's past armed struggle against a murderous regime, the democratic governing role of the FMLN today, and the implications for the many Canadians of Salvadorean origin with past and current ties to the FMLN.
If he is deported, Mr. Figueroa will be forced to uproot his family, including his Canadian-born children, despite by all accounts having contributed positively to his Langley, B.C. community for many years.
Please TAKE ACTION!
http://www.barrio-nuevo.org/
Someone needs to remind the mandarins in Ottawa that Canada is a liberal democracy not a fascist Fatherland. That Jose Figueroa could be considered a threat to national security would be laughable were it not so offensive. Figueroa is no more a terrorist than are those expats who opposed the Vietnam War, or South African Apartheid. This political move sends a clear message to immigrants that Leftist politics are not welcome in Canada. The message is obscene, and clearly not Canadian. Otta Nupponen of the Immigration and Refugee Board's abhorrent decision must be overturned, and this scandal must be resolved.
ReplyDeleteEmail your MP and express your outrage.