On Sunday, several groups came out in support of a Guatemalan woman who is facing deportation.

Lucy Francineth Granados has been living as an undocumented worker in Montreal for the last nine years. She’s scheduled to be deported on March 27th and is currently in a detention centre in Laval.

Several organizations, including Solidarity Across Borders and the Immigrant Workers Centre raised her case today. They’re hoping to put pressure on the Federal government to stop the deportation.

Granados left her native country in 2009 after the death of her husband. She made her way to Canada where she tried – and failed—to get refugee status in 2012.

She lived for several years as an undocumented migrant when she made an application for permanent residency in 2017.

Last Tuesday, she was arrested and taken from her home by Canadian Border Service Agency officers, who were accused of using excessive force.

Granados’ aunt and cousin from Guatemala were on-hand today to plead her case – sending her back, they say, will endanger her three children and mother, who rely on her financial support to survive.

Granados had also been active in the Non-Status Women’s Collective of Montreal. It’s estimated that there are around 40,000 people without status living in Montreal. While it was officially declared a sanctuary city, meaning that someone without papers can receive municipal services without fearing deportation, it’s ultimately up to the Canadian government to decide whether a person can stay or go.

Solidarity across borders said this particular case sends a message to other undocumented migrants living in Canada that they are at risk.

“You can live with no access to basic services, no health care, things that most take for granted as rights,” said Bill Van Driel. “Your children can live in precarity, basically you can work the most low-paying, most dangerous jobs without a shred of security—and you can stay.”

“But if you want the same rights as anyone else, CBSA will come for you,” he said.

The group is asking Federal Ministers of Immigration and Public Safety to intervene – they’re also asking for an independent investigation into the conduct of the CBSA officers who arrested Granados.