Undocumented immigrants risk arrest for claiming in Ottawa

Rose Celeste always thought of visiting the picturesque Rideau Canal and seeing the Gothic architecture of Ottawa’s Parliament Buildings, but the Canadian capital seemed out of reach for women in Toronto. .

During her 14 years in Canada (the last 9 years spent as an illegal immigrant), her former live-in caregiver’s travel was limited to accompanying her employer’s family to a cottage in Collingwood and her hometown of Montreal. rice field.

Celeste avoids leaving her tiny apartment except for work to avoid encounters with authorities and possible deportation to her native Philippines.

So she signed a town hall meeting with Canadian politicians to advocate a so-called “regularization plan” that would give her and about 500,000 illegal immigrants permanent residency so they could come. Up was a big step for her. Get out of the shadows and live your life.

“I’m scared, but excited and happy to go. I came here in 2009, but after my work permit expired in 2013, I lost my eligibility.” We are many and we need to speak up.”

The federal government is developing a formalization plan to address the problem of illegal workers in precarious and exploitative jobs and to tackle the underground economy.

City Hall, scheduled for Monday at an undisclosed venue in Ottawa, is the final push to lobby lawmakers to go ahead with an “inclusive no cap” plan, which is expected to help build the complex. It can benefit many who have fallen through the cracks and lost their positions. A sometimes disjointed immigration system.

“These people live in incredible despair. Every day of delay means your boss abuses you. They’re overcharging you, your kids are out of school, they can’t put food on the table, they’re being chased by the police and immigration law enforcement,” he said, organizing a town hall meeting. Said Hassan of the Immigration Rights Network, which raised funds for the workers’ trip to Ottawa, said.

“Some of them have deportation warrants and are going to talk to the immigration minister and other politicians. is.”

About 100 illegal immigrants from across Canada travel by car, air or charter bus to Ottawa, where they meet with Fraser, ministers and other members of parliament.

Many undocumented immigrants work in construction, cleaning, caregiving, food preparation and agriculture. Some have unsuccessfully applied for asylum, others have arrived legally as visitors, international students or temporary foreign workers but have stayed for longer periods. Many have been here for years and contribute to Canada’s underground economy.

Celeste, who was an active member of the migrant workers movement in Toronto for several years, said her life was occupied by immigration issues, which made her stressed, depressed and unable to sleep. .

“I can’t help but think about my status all the time. I feel scared every time I leave the house, but I have to work to support my family,” she said when she returned home in 2011, now 36. Celeste, who last saw her two sons, ages 1 and 24, said.

She could have applied for permanent residency after meeting the requirement for a minimum of two years of live-in employment, but she did not because she had been away from her family for so long and was too preoccupied with the breakdown of her marriage. I did. She missed the application window.

Yet she felt compelled to stay because the job prospects in the Philippines were very poor and she still had to support her two sons and seven siblings back home.

Celeste, who has no other option for permanent residency, said she was elated when she first learned earlier this year that the Liberal government was going to work on a plan to regularize illegal workers.

“It gives me hope. I hope it doesn’t disappoint,” said a Bachelor of Science student who was an elementary school teacher in her home country before leaving to care for other family members. Celeste said.

It’s hard for Romeo Tokpar to find the courage to talk about his lack of status, so he had to sit and think about the invitation to City Hall before attending the event.

The 34-year-old man arrived in Canada to seek asylum from Liberia via the United States in 2017 and has worked two full-time jobs as a care assistant in a warehouse and a forklift driver. brother who came home.

In December 2020, Tokpar was thrilled when Ottawa introduced a limited-time Guardian Angel program. However, restrictive requirements disqualified him. His asylum application was rejected last year, and his subsequent appeal was denied.

“We are all afraid of being disappointed again. For many of us, traveling to Ottawa is the hardest decision,” he said. “But it would be a dream come true if we could all get permanent residency in Canada. This is our only hope.”

A member of several local immigration advocacy groups, Tokpar regularly meets with other undocumented workers to strategize and plan their trip to Ottawa. Special security measures are in place to protect participants from the risk of arrest by authorities through the support of onboard advocates, lawyers and social workers.

“We are nervous, but this is too important to all of us and we would like to have an opinion on what this normalization program should be. We have a lot of questions. want to know if it’s safe to be at work, if I can finally reunite with my family, and when that plan will come to fruition.”

Danilo de Leon, a participant from Edmonton, has already been brought to the attention of officials after being asked to report directly to Canada Border Services by phone every other Wednesday and twice a week since 2017. Canada had renewed his work permit annually, but refused to grant him temporary residency status, leaving him in a deadlock and deprived of health care and other government services.

My biggest challenge as a truck driver was getting off work and traveling. He wouldn’t have been able to do it had his boss not stepped up at the last minute and offered to cover two shifts.

De Leon began operations shortly after arriving from the Philippines in 2009 as a janitor under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. He organized a campaign to unionize in the workplace and later founded Migrante He Alberta to defend the rights of immigrants in Alberta.

“The problem is we are vulnerable to abuse by employers,[recruiters]recruiters, consultants and immigration lawyers because we are illegal,” 10 years.

“We were working. We are paying taxes. We are contributing to Canada. Even if we lose our status, we are not a burden to Canada,” he added. ‘Abuse must stop’

Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal can’t wait to hear the 16-hour journey from Thunder Bay in Ottawa and appreciates the support from the local community. I’ll take him there.

A former international student from Bangladesh, the 22-year-old was forced to quit his studies at Lakehead University in 2020 when his family was unable to provide for him as a result of the pandemic-induced recession.

Last year, as his study permit was about to expire, he was granted a scholarship under a special pathway introduced for international graduates and migrant workers who had accumulated a minimum of 1,560 hours of employment in designated essential jobs. I was able to apply for permanent residency.

Kamal lost his eligibility while waiting for his permanent residency application to be processed amidst a huge immigration backlog. In May, he was summoned to Border Patrol and issued an exclusion order for staying beyond the expiry of his study permit.

Since arriving in Thunder Bay, Kamal, who has welcomed international students and started a local program to shovel snow for the elderly, said: “We have lived in a temporary life for so long. I hope we do the right thing and include everyone in our plans.” He also volunteers at a homeless shelter and soup kitchen.

“We are thrilled to think about the opportunity to reunite with our families, have our basic rights and live in constant fear of being taken away. I just want to go to

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering The Star’s immigration office. Follow him on Twitter. @nkeung

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