A Montreal man who was set to be deported to Mexico next week will now be allowed to remain in Canada for the birth of his son later this year, a federal judge has ruled.
Andres was set to be deported May 12, but he filed an application for judicial review after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) refused an administrative stay.
CTV News is not publishing his full name in order to protect his identity.
In a decision rendered on Thursday, Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond ruled that the CBSA officer did not reasonably take into account the impending birth of his son when the agency refused to postpone the deportation and that his removal would cause “irreparable harm.”
The CBSA also overlooked the fact that Andres is a caregiver for his spouse’s older son, who has serious health complications and requires ongoing care, according to the judge.
“In my view, the officer’s decision on this matter has all the hallmarks of an unreasonable decision,” Justice Grammond wrote in his decision.
“The officer does not appear to be aware of the scope of her discretion and is unaware of our Court’s case law. She should have taken into account the specific situation in which [Andres’] spouse will find herself at the time of the birth, given the health condition of her older child and the overall difficulties revealed by the evidence. These circumstances strongly support a postponement.”
A small ‘win’: lawyer
In his arguments opposing the deportation, Andres said his life would be in danger if he were deported to Mexico because of the drug cartels he investigated in his previous job. The deportation has been postponed to Dec. 1, roughly two months after the expected birth of Andres’ son.
Anne-Cécile Khouri-Raphael, the lawyer representing him, is calling it a small “win.”
A Montreal-based group that advocates for refugee claimants said it has noticed a recent rise in family separation cases and that the CBSA should do a better job taking people’s specific circumstances into account before removing them.
“It is not normal that we need to work all night to file processes in court. These removals should just not happen. We should have a policy to not have them happen,” said Maryse Poisson, the director of social intervention at the Welcome Collective, in an interview with CTV News last week.
According to Poisson, Andres is a former member of the Mexican military who conducted operations targeting drug traffickers who killed his colleagues.
Arrived in late 2022
Since living in Montreal, he has been able to find gainful employment and is the primary source of income for his family.
Andres is a Mexican citizen who applied for asylum when he arrived in Canada in December 2022. His application was rejected, and he then lost his appeal. His pre-removal risk assessment was also denied on March 12, and he was ordered to be removed on May 12.
In his application for an administrative review, which a judge ruled in his favour on Thursday, he noted that his wife, a Mexican citizen seeking asylum, has been living in Canada for three years.
