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Haligonians Protest the Deportation of BC Family Man, October 29th, 12pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Haligonians Protest the Deportation of a BC Family Man
Where: Victoria Park (across from the Halifax Public Gardens), Halifax, NS
When: October 29, 2013 at 12:00pm
At noon on Tuesday, October 29th, members of local churches, unions, and other concerned citizens will gather in Victoria Park to protest the deportation of Jose Figueroa.
As part of the national “We Are Jose” campaign, the Halifax rally will join with other supporters in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and El Salvador to call for an immediate stay of deportation for Jose, who is currently in sanctuary in a BC church. Stephen Harper’s government is trying to force Jose to leave Canada and be separated from his wife and three children.
Jose was a youth organizer for the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) student movement during the Civil War in El Salvador. Fleeing threats and persecution in El Salvador, he applied for refugee status with the Canadian government and was allowed to enter Canada legally. In the sixteen years he has been in Canada, he has raised and supported three children - all Canadian born – and has been a peaceful, productive member of society.
While the government is willing to let his wife and children stay in Canada, they insist that Jose must be deported. His children are put in the situation of being separated from their father or leaving the only home they have ever known.
Rally organizer, Ruth Bishop said “Jose has never committed a crime, why is our government tearing his whole family apart?”
To learn more about Jose's case see www.wearejose.com
Topics: Migration
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