Nikoletta Notar and Gergo Balogh had been childhood friends in Hungary before they reconnected in Toronto in 2010 after their families, both Roma minorities, separately fled to Canada for asylum.Although Balogh, his parents and two younger sisters were deported from Canada in 2013 after their refugee claim was denied, Notar and her family were accepted and became permanent residents.Not only did the young couple stay in touch, Balogh again fled Hungary and returned to Canada last spring after he was allegedly twice attacked by baton-totting far-right extremists in Miskolc.Read more: Former Tory government’s refugee reforms get failing gradeToronto lawyer suspended over handling of Roma refugee casesAdvocates hail end to ‘conditional’ spousal visasBalogh, 23, and Notar, 27, got married in Toronto last May and now are proud parents of 5-month-old Nicole.Although the couple’s spousal sponsorship application is still in process, in March, Canada Border Services Agency booked Balogh for deportation. He is scheduled to be removed from Canada on Wednesday. “We were just so shocked. I am so distraught and anxious that I’ve lost my ability to breastfeed Nicole,” said Notar. “Gergo has not broken any law. He always reports to the border services. This is so unnecessary. Why do they want to separate our family?”Refugee lawyers say they are seeing a growing number of deportation cases where a failed refugee claimant is being removed from Canada even if the person has a pending permanent residence application with the spouse, who is granted asylum in a separate claim.“Deportation of the spouse or dependant child of a United Nations Convention refugee is a grave violation of international law . . . It is troubling that the CBSA would argue against a stay of deportation in the court and any deportation would be carried out,” said Raoul Boulakia of the Refugee Lawyers’ Association of Ontario. ...
|