After living in Canada for almost two decades, the Canadian government may deport Nike Okafor and her 21-year-old son to Nigeria due to immigration laws in the country. In 2003, thirty-nine-year-old Okafor came to Canada as an asylum seeker. As a Muslim in Northern Nigeria, she had a child with a Christian and said she feared the boy would be taken from her due to religious tensions in the region. She said she ran to Canada for security reasons and to make life better for her and her son.
However, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has sent her a deportation order regarding her and her son. The two are set for deportation on July 26, 2022. This is happening despite her husband filing a spousal sponsorship application with the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) over two years ago. When Okafor moved to Canada, her refugee claim was declined, but she appealed the judgment through her lawyer and attempted to find a way of staying back while she carried on with her life in the country.
While her appeal was ongoing, she lived a normal life like, went to school, became a personal support worker, got married to a Canadian man and gave birth to two Canadian children. However, Canadian immigration laws are about to be very hard on her by separating her and her Nigerian-born son from the rest of her family.
According to Legal Line Canada, the Canadian government has the legal right and power to deport people that are illegally staying in the country.
Deportation’s implication is that anyone who is deported from Canada due to a deportation order by the CBSA cannot come back to the country except there is written permission from the Minister of immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
While talking to the press, Okafor said: “If I have to go back, it will end my life. I’ll be separated from my husband. I’ll be separated from my Canadian children. I don’t know how I can live. My whole life is here.”
If she leaves Canada, she will go back to Nigeria where she says that she has no ties and her Nigerian-born son will have to exit the only country he knows. Also, her two Canadian-born children will have to bid their mother goodbye.
Though Okafor’s husband, Rotimi Odunaiya, had filed for spousal sponsorship with the IRCC for her over 28 months ago, the CBSA still issued her and her son a deportation order.
According to the Canadian government, the average processing time for spousal sponsorship is 15 months. By implication, if not for the delays, Okafor would have become a permanent resident.
Janet Dench, the Executive Director of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), calls this situation “very, very unjust.” She said while Okafor’s case involved both the CBSA and the IRCC, the CBSA focuses on law enforcement like deportation while the IRCC focuses on screening and facilitating new residents of Canada.
In a statement, the IRCC said Okafor and her son’s application for permanent residence are “in queue for review” and gave assurance that it would be objectively reviewed. The department was not specifically about how long the wait would be and said the time frames for processing applications may vary owing to the distinctive nature of every case.
Also, the IRCC did not explain how an individual with a pending application could be issued a deportation order or if the IRCC communicates with the CBSA to stop this situation.
The statement said: “Family reunification is a fundamental pillar of our immigration system, and IRCC works to process applications for permanent residence expeditiously while conducting all verifications required under the law.”
SUPPORT NIGERIAN CANADIAN NEWS
If you like our work and want to keep enjoying what we offer, kindly support us by donating to the Nigerian Canadian News through the button below.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below
