Immigration lawyers shocked Kemo Montique’s permanent residency application was rejected<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kemo Montique moved to Canada from Jamaica at age 11 and doesn’t remember much about his life in the country where he was born<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of his family lived in Canada, so his parents moved him and his two siblings to the Toronto-area in 2007 to join their loved ones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now, despite having no ties or relatives in the country where he was born, the 27-year-old is being deported back\u00a0even though his entire family has been permitted to stay in Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immigration lawyers who\u00a0CBC Toronto spoke to\u00a0\u2014 one representing\u00a0Montique and another who isn’t connected to the case\u00a0\u2014 say the situation\u00a0raises questions around how Canada’s immigration ministry\u00a0makes decisions around permanent residency\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Montique said his\u00a0parents initially came to\u00a0the country on visitor visas, which expired around 2011 or 2012, although\u00a0he’s not sure of the exact date. As a kid, Montique said he wasn’t aware of the family’s immigration status or its precarity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 2019, his parents and siblings applied for permanent residency as a family under humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which is a type of application that examines how settled someone is in Canada, their family ties in the country and the best interests of any children involved\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Montique family used an immigration application counselor, who Montique\u00a0said advised him not to apply as part of his\u00a0family’s application. That might have been due to him being in his mid-20s and no longer considered a dependent, he said, although he’s not sure as he feels the counselor didn’t properly explain\u00a0the paperwork to him<\/p>\n\n\n\n Montique ended up applying as an individual in Dec. 2021, also under humanitarian and compassionate grounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n While his family’s application was approved,\u00a0Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) denied Montique’s application on Aug. 1 of this year<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has been ordered to leave Canada by the last week of September. Though he has retained a lawyer who is fighting the deportation decision,\u00a0Montique said he’s devastated at the prospect of leaving his home<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adrienne Smith, a Toronto immigration lawyer and adjunct professor at Queen’s University’s law school who isn’t involved in the case, said she is disappointed Canada is trying to deport Montique. She said he came here as a child by no choice of his own, and has been living here for 16 years, building a life that includes not just family, but friends, school and work\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to documents Montique provided to CBC Toronto, he was informed on Aug. 2 that IRCC reviewed his application for permanent residency and an officer determined his reasons for staying\u00a0 A spokesperson for IRCC\u00a0said in an email statement the ministry can’t comment on individual cases due to privacy legislation<\/p>\n\n\n\n After his permanent residency application was rejected, Montique submitted a\u00a0Pre-Removal Risk Assessment Application (PRRA), which is an application someone who is facing removal can submit\u00a0to prove they would be in danger if they are sent back to their country of origin. He outlined he is fearful due to a high level of crime and violence in the country<\/p>\n\n\n\nI was at a young age … I didn’t know anything that was really going on<\/q>\u00a0he said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Family allowed to stay in Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It was so shocking. Canada is a place all about immigrants. It’s our number one priority. But it seems there’s a strong sense of urgency to remove specific people in the country and I don’t understand why<\/q>\u00a0he said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve never committed a crime.\u00a0I pay my taxes.\u00a0I’ve worked.\u00a0I’ve attended school. I’ve considered Canada my home for many, many years<\/q><\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a certain point, just by the sheer amount of time you’ve been in Canada, establishment is found. Sixteen years in Canada\u00a0\u2014\u00a0I’m shocked to hear that an [application] like this wasn’t approved<\/q>\u00a0said Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He’s a Canadian in every sense of the word, except for not having the paper<\/q><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Montique fears violence in Jamaica <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
are not sufficient<\/q>\u00a0No further explanation was\u00a0provided<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly. Every individual facing removal is entitled to due process, but once all avenues to appeal are exhausted, they are removed from Canada in accordance with Canadian law<\/q>\u00a0Lo\u00efc Ouellette wrote<\/p>\n\n\n\n