The case involves a former child refugee who came to Canada in 1994 at age10 after having fled Somalia with his mother and sister. He was later taken into foster care in Ontario, but by age 16 he was living on the street and getting into trouble with the law.
As he never acquired Canadian citizenship, the Canadian Border Services Agency had decided to deport Abdilahi Elmi to Somalia as ” a danger to the public” due to his having committed “extensive crimes within Canada”.
Elmi, now aged 34, recently served a six-month sentence for assault. A criminal sentence of more than six months makes any non-citizen eligible for deportation.
Supporters of Elmi who argued for a suspension of the deportation order say the province of Ontario failed in its duty to apply for his citizenship while he was a ward of the province, and when Elmi applied himself, he was advised that his deadline had passed.
Demonstrators chant in the office of a federal member of Parliament advocating for a stay on the deportation of Abdilahi Elmi to Somalia during a protest in Halifax on Tuesday. August 20. (Darren Calabrese-CP)
After a judge rejected an appeal, Elmi was set to be deported on Monday, but supporters had also requested intervention from the United Nations Human Rights Commission. They argued that sending Elmi to Somalia would be a violation of his human rights.as he has no family there, does not speak the language or know the culture, and deportation to the extremely troubled country would amount to a death sentence.
During a hearing last week, Elmi’s mother, Faduma Isse made an emotional plea to stop the deportation of her son back to the country he fled as a child. (Greg Bruce/CBC)
The U.N. body then sent a non-binding note to Canadian officials on Friday requesting a delay while they reviewed the case. Canadian officials then notified Elmi’s lawyer that the deportation would not take place on Monday.
It is not known how long the U.N. investigation will take, but both the Canadian government and Elmi’s supporters are preparing their presentations to the U.N
Additional information-sources
- Canadian Press (via Global News): M MacDonald: Aug 20/19: Edmonton-based former refugee facing deportation
- Canadian Press (via HuffPost): Aug 24/19: Liberals defer deportation
- CBC: Aug 23/19: Former refugee won’t be deported as scheduled
- Star: N Keung: Aug 23/19: Canada acquiesces to UN request for deportation delay
- CTV:G Slaughter: Aug 23/19: Canada suspends deportation after UN request
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