News: Separating Children
As reported, US authorities have been separating children from their parents as they enter the United States. Separating children is unjust and deplorable. The situation and the photos that have been coming out about this situation show the inhumanity and lack of protection for refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in the United States. This is an example, among many, that the United States is not a safe place for immigrants and the short-sighted policies from the President’s office to the state level to the local level.
Here at Clarke Immigration Law, we meet clients on a daily basis with stories of the injustice and discrimination that they face in the United States. Canada is not perfect but we do our best to help everyone who comes through our door.
Recently, we met with a father who is taking care of his young daughter by himself as the mother was deported by US authorities. This has been reported by the Winnipeg Free Press. This case is heart-breaking. The refugee claimant needs to be focusing on building his case for the Refugee Protection Division; instead, he has been figuring out how to care for his young daughter and worry about the mother who is currently in hiding.
For more details on this case and how separating children may have an impact, check out the WFP article. Here is an excerpt:
“If I go back, I’m in trouble,” he said in his Twi language. Ben and Blessing and her mother, Rose, flew from Ghana to Ecuador last year and made their way by land to Mexico. When the family crossed at Tijuana into the U.S. to make a refugee claim, the men were separated from the women and taken to separate detention facilities. Ben had been carrying Blessing, and the father and daughter were sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lockup for men in California, he said. Rose, he discovered, was deported back to Ghana.
[…]
The danger he faced going back to Ghana, he said, was worse than their separation from Rose. He became Blessing’s main caregiver — a non-traditional role for men in Ghana, he said, and one that’s been a challenge. They headed for Canada, and on Jan. 20, they crossed the border into Quebec to ask for refugee protection. Ben said he heard good things about Winnipeg and he and Blessing boarded a bus heading west. He got social assistance and legal aid. His lawyer said no date has been set for their Immigration and Refugee Board hearing, but he hopes it’s soon.
“I have serious concerns about the father, the child and the mother,” immigration lawyer Alastair Clarke said.
“In my personal experience with the father and child, they have genuine fear of returning to their home country. He has limited support and extremely limited language skills. He is working hard to request the necessary documents for his case, but he clearly needs to focus on taking care of his daughter,” Clarke said. “I also have significant concerns about the health of the mother. Separating a mother from her young child is a tragedy.”
If you can assist Ben & Blessing or if you know of similar cases, please contact our office immediately.
