Community rallies behind Montreal family of five facing deportation to Mexico

A community is rallying behind a family of five that has been living in Montreal for six years and is now facing deportation in just a few days.

Jose Zumudio and Norma Quintana, as well as their three children, fled Mexico in 2018, and sought asylum in Canada. Their lawyers say keeping them in Quebec is a matter of life and death.

Their lawyer says they left the country following threats from one of Mexico's powerful drug cartels.

"It's one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world and they were being threatened to get killed because they weren't paying protection money," said human rights lawyer Stewart Istvanffy.

Jose Zumudio and his children in Quebec. (Submitted photo)

In federal court on Tuesday, Istvanffy was trying to get a stay of deportation. The family has already been in Quebec for six years.

Their asylum case was only heard in 2021. They were refused by the Immigration and Refugee Board and were also refused following a pre-removal risk assessment, which is meant to ensure people being deported will not face persecution.

"They believed in the danger, they were told they could go and live somewhere else in Mexico, which we think is crazy. Mexico is in a really heavy human rights crisis, and you can't get protection from people like that," their lawyer said.

Their plight has garnered support from many in their community, including their childrens' school. Family friend Marie-Eve Rancourt's children attend the same school in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

"We launched a petition at the end of last week ... we have collected more than 1,300 signatures," Rancourt said.

She's worried what will happen to the family if the deportation isn't stayed.

"The children only know Quebec. They have friends here, learned French here ... as a society we've already invested a lot in this family," she said.

"I'm hoping that the federal court will do its job and respect our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our obligations in international law, and that they won't be deported this coming friday," Istvanffy added.

In the meantime, they say politicians may be their only hope and are calling on the federal immigration minister to intervene. CTV News reached out to Marc Miller's office but was told it doesn't comment on individual cases.

"It's a question of life and death," said Istvanffy.

The judge is expected to render a decision later this week. The family, meanwhile, is set to be deported on Friday.