Nigerian family in Montreal facing imminent deportation pleads to stay

Community groups gathered outside the federal immigration minister's office in Montreal this morning to demand a stop to next month's planned deportation of a local family originally from Nigeria.

Deborah Adegboye says she, her husband and first child were fleeing religious persecution in their home country when they entered Canada as asylum-seekers via the now-shuttered Roxham Road crossing in 2017.

Adegboye now works as an orderly, travelling between the homes of patients with disabilities offering assistance with basic tasks.

Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, a member of Quebec's national assembly who was present at the demonstration outside Marc Miller's office, said it is unconscionable that Canada would expel an essential worker during a labour shortage in the health care sector.

Adegboye said she sees the deportation order from federal immigration officials as a death sentence for her family, which now includes two more children who were born in Canada.

She issued a plea for Canada to reverse the deportation so she can continue to build a life for her children and care for her patients.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2024.