Press Release
Montreal, 11 April 2018 – Supporters of Lucy Francineth Granados demand recourse for rights violations as well as appropriate medical attention for the single mother of three, who is facing deportation to Guatemala on April 13th, after living in Montreal for nine years. On Monday, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) refused to grant an administrative stay of deportation to Lucy; on Tuesday, the agency opposed her motion to be heard by the Federal Court.
“How can we accept a society in which our neighbours are brutalized by the CBSA and then, when they object, rushed out of the country – with injuries inflicted by the CBSA unhealed? Where is the justice, where is the humanity if there is no way to hold the CBSA accountable for its actions towards migrants?” asked William Van Driel, a member of Solidarity Across Borders and a friend of Lucy’s.
“We have filed a human rights complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission on behalf of Lucy. We are appalled by the physical and psychological injury inflicted on her by the CBSA, the way that the advice of independent medical experts has been set aside and Lucy’s health treated with cavalier indifference while in CBSA custody. We believe that the CBSA has cruelly violated her human rights,” said Immigrant Workers Centre organizer Viviana Medina.
“The CHRC seems to be the only way Lucy can seek redress against the CBSA. However, legal experts tell us that people like Lucy with precarious status have been excluded in the past. It is also so limited that we were not able to include significant CBSA legal abuse, where a CBSA officer made a false representation to Lucy’s lawyer,” added Van Driel. “We are further concerned that the complaint will not proceed if Lucy is deported, as CBSA seems very intent on.”
“We have 48-hours to stop Lucy’s deportation and we must continue to fight, not only for this member of our community but for her children as well,” said Rehana Hashmi, initiator of the Mothers for Lucy Sit-in outside CBSA offices, which enters its 7th day today.
“So far Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale have failed to show their humanity, or to acknowledge the widespread public support for Lucy, or even to carry out their legal duties by responding to Lucy’s application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds. But I have hope they still will,” added Hashmi. Over 10,000 Canadians have signed a petition in support of the undocumented Montrealer, and public letters have been launched at several universities with signatures from hundreds of academics and students.
On Tuesday, Granados’ lawyers turned to the Federal Court in a bid to stop the federal government from deporting her and to force Immigration Minister Hussen to respond to Lucy’s application for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds (filed in September 2017). However, the CBSA is asking that Lucy not even be heard by the court.
“We call upon the Canadian government to fulfill its human rights obligations and act on its stated promises to protect the health and well-being of migrants. Lucy’s story shows that the well-being of migrant women like Lucy is not a priority for the Canadian government, and that there is extremely limited legal recourse to challenge this.” added Medina.
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Immigrant Workers Centre iwc-cti.org Tél. 514 342 2111
Timeline: www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/timeline
Let Lucy Stay Campaign page: https://bit.ly/2GrwsZk
Solidarity Across Borders solidaritesansfrontieres@gmail.com www.solidarityacrossborders.org 514-222-0205, 514 894 2455, 514-992-1662
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