MONTREAL—At 24, Sami Sheikh has lived half his life in Montreal, a city he calls home.
“My friends are here. My work is here. I've pretty much grew up over here
In October Sheikh found out that his request to stay in Canada on humanitarian grounds was denied.
“I was in shock, I was literally in shock. I didn't even know how this was possible,” said Sheikh.
To make matters worse, he will be deported to Pakistan—a country he has no ties to.
“I have no life over there, I don't know particularly anybody, I have no house,” said Sheikh.
Born in the United Arab Emirates, he came to Canada 12 years ago with his family. Their refugee status was granted for political reasons, but in 2007 his parents’ status was revoked because they omitted to disclose they had lived in Dubai before fleeing Pakistan.
However, the courts allowed Sheikh to stay.
“I haven't done anything wrong,” said Sheikh, who has studied, worked and established himself in his community. Now he's fighting to stay and he's got a lot of support.
“It would be very strange to send him back home to a country that is not his home. His home is Parc Extension and he needs to be able to stay here,” said Sasha Dyck.
Sheikh’s lawyer says this case is an example of how the system is set up to say no.
“The humanitarian application has become an exceptional recourse which only applies to a very small number of people and we are deporting a lot of people who really belong in Canada,” said Dyck.
Solidarity Across Borders also stands by Sheikh.
“If Sami Sheikh can't stay in Montreal, Canada, Quebec for humanitarian reasons no one can. It means that the immigration refugee determination is completely closed off,” said Jaggi Singh.
Immigration Canada has told CTV Montreal that it is reviewing the case and will be in touch with Sheikh’s lawyer soon.
