Outlines to Draw a Mexican Teen Boy

Mexican teen who cited homophobia in asylum bid deported

Jan 02, 2011 • 11 years ago • 1 minute read

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

An 18-year-old refugee claimant who said his life could be at risk if he were sent back to Mexico has been deported, officials confirmed Sunday.

Daniel Garcia, whose application for a temporary stay of his deportation order was dismissed by the Federal Court on Friday, was deported, according to Canada Border Services Agency and the immigrant-rights group No One Is Illegal.

"Daniel Garcia unwillingly boarded a plane to Mexico City," the group said on its website. CBSA said Sunday the deportation proceeded "as per standard removal procedures," providing no other details.

Garcia was scheduled to be deported Saturday but no details of his departure were revealed by officials, an itinerary blackout lawyer Joel Sandaluk called "very unusual."

"I've been doing this for 10 years and I've never seen this once," he said.

He said he suspected Garcia's flights details were withheld because of the amount of attention the story had attracted.

The Grade 11 student arrived in Canada as a minor in 2007 under the guardianship of his elder sister, Brenda. The two applied for refugee status, arguing that they faced persecution and possibly death in Mexico because Brenda is gay. They said they had experienced discrimination and homophobic violence there.

Her application was denied and she was deported last Monday.

The younger Garcia had been held in a Canada Border Services Agency detention centre since Dec. 23.

Garcia had applied for temporary residency his last-ditch attempt to stay in Canada.

According to the court decision, Garcia failed to report a change of his address when he moved in October 2010, and he failed to appear at an immigration hearing in November, which lead to a warrant for his arrest.

"The applicant's behaviour shows complete disregard for Canada's immigration laws," the judge wrote in a court decision.

The decision also noted that returning to Mexico wouldn't cause Garcia "irreparable harm."

– With files from Carmen Chai, Postmedia News