Every morning when she comes to work at the University of Regina, Naomi Beingessner changes the number of days on the banner hanging in the main student union building.
“I think it’s 161. I have to go out and change the number for today. Obviously not good for mental health,” she said.
The number is the total days Victoria Ordu and Ihuoma Amadi, two Nigerian international students at URegina, have been hiding from federal officials in an undisclosed church basement in Regina.
Since their Immigration and Refugee Board hearings in November 2011, the two have been ordered to return to Nigeria by Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian government for working illegally off-campus at a Walmart for two weeks.
Ralph Goodale, MP for Wascana and deputy Liberal leader has brought the students’ case to immigration minister Jason Kenney in the House of Commons. Goodale said although the Saskatchewan government is supportive of the students, the Conservatives are not.
“A deportation order . . . will certainly destroy their education, it will probably have damaging consequences for life, and all for the mistake of working for two weeks at Walmart,” Goodale said.
However, the removal request is not a deportation but an exclusion order, according to CBSA spokesperson Lisa White. The difference is that deportation bars an individual from Canada for life, while exclusion is only for one year. After the one year, Amadi and Ordu could reapply to study in Canada, White said.
Goodale said the exclusion order still has damaging effects on the womens’ international education.
“They will lose their scholarship from their Nigerian [government],” he said.
The two students have received overwhelming support from URegina and the larger community.
Barb Pollock, vice-president of external affairs at URegina, said the university feels these women have been “harshly penalized in a disproportionate way to the level of wrongdoing.”
Pollock said in consulting with other Canadian universities, the typical penalty is a fine.
“We have asked the federal government to reconsider,” she said. “We have also attested that they were students at the time, which appears to be a misunderstanding on the part of the federal government. We’ve done what we can. They either believe us or they don’t.”
As the executive director of Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPIRG) at URegina, Beingessner has helped organize local rallies and sent signed petitions to Kenney and Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews.
On Nov. 14, Beingessner received a response in the mail from Toews for the 1,000 signatures that were sent to his office in October. The two-page letter outlines the Canadian government’s immigration policy.
“I can assure you that the Government of Canada and the CBSA are committed to the fair and equitable application of Canada’s immigration laws,” Toews’ last sentence reads.
“Of course it is our position that this was not a fair, equitable application as there are students who have been in this situation before in Canada and this is the first known case of deportation for this offence without a fine or a warning,” Beingessner said.
CBSA officers entered the students’ residence on campus wearing bulletproof vests and carrying sidearms, interrupting one girl who was in the shower, according to Goodale.
He said the fear of CBSA officers re-entering their room is the reason the girls are seeking refuge in a church.
“I know a lot of people are unclear as to whether it actually is a place of sanctuary and if you can go in and arrest people. You can. But if you have men with guns running into a church and handcuffing women it does look kind of bad,” Beingessner said.
White confirmed that “there are no places in Canada where a person can hide.”
“Canada has one of the most generous and fair immigration systems in the world. We’re not tolerant of those who abuse this generosity,” White said. “CBSA does not condone people hiding in churches or other places of worship to avoid removal from Canada.”
Goodale said he wonders why Walmart is not receiving sanctions.
“Surely a corresponding penalty should be placed on Walmart . . . because what they were doing was correspondingly illegal,” he said.
“When [the women] discovered [working at Walmart] was contrary to [their] visas they immediately quit work, and have been absolutely, totally transparent about their circumstances every step of the way and they are treated with a sledgehammer,” he said.
Beingessner said the federal government’s harsh stance on deportations is rising.
According to CBSA’s website, 2011-12 was a “milestone year,” removing 16,514 individuals from Canada, up from 15,286 last year.
Goodale said if the numbers are removing illegal residents, it’s a good thing.
“But you have to ask yourself, how many cases are like these Nigerian students?” he said.
