CORNWALL, Ontario – A Brazilian national living in the United States illegally was recently caught crossing into Canada at Cornwall.
The CBC reported that the 32-year-old Brazilian man fled gang violence in his home country to the United States, but eventually felt the need to flee that country as well because of President Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric.
The man decided to come to Canada. After traveling through the Northern U.S. via smugglers he was eventually taken by boat from Cornwall Island, across the St. Lawrence River to the city.
He landed at the wharf just across from the Monte Carlo Motel on Montreal Rd.
He arrived in Cornwall on Feb. 2 and was almost immediately arrested by the Cornwall Regional Task Force (CRTF).
“The subject was arrested under Section 55(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA),” said the Canada Border Services Agency in a statement to Seaway News. “He was issued a deportation order on February 13, 2017, by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), which has been deferred under the IRPA as he is required to appear in court once a trial date is set for the human smuggling investigation.”
The unnamed individual was released on a bond with terms and conditions on March 24 and remains under a deportation order. The deportation order was suspended while the smuggling investigation is ongoing as the person in question may have to appear in court as a witness.
The CBSA said that it cannot speculate on if this man’s life will be at risk if he is returned to Brazil.
“The decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly,” the CBSA’s statement reads. “Pre-removal risk assessment is one of the safeguards in place to ensure people in need of protection are not removed. This assessment is conducted by officers of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Everyone ordered removed from Canada is entitled to due process before the law and all removal orders are subject to various levels of appeal. Once individuals have exhausted all legal avenues of appeal/due process, they are expected to respect our laws and leave Canada or be removed.”
The CRTF and the RCMP closely monitor the St. Lawrence for any signs of smuggling, human or otherwise.
