Montreal, May 24, 2023 – Two weeks before Parliament closes for the summer, undocumented Montrealers spoke about their lives underground in Montreal to explain the urgency of a regularization program. Gathered in Prime Minister Trudeau’s riding, they demanded an uncapped regularization program giving permanent residency to all undocumented people, without exception or discrimination, and an immediate end to deportations and detentions.
“This is urgent. Parliament closes in two weeks. Now is the time to regularize the situation of all undocumented people, without exception. To us, any exclusion is discrimination,” said Samira Jasmin, spokesperson for Solidarity Across Borders.
“I applied as a refugee, but I was refused. So I found myself without status here. I can’t go back to Mexico. I fled my country because of gender violence and because my life was in danger. But undocumented women are often at risk of abuse too. With permanent residency, I could live in safety. I could also see my children, whom I haven’t seen since 2009,” explained Mariana, an undocumented mother.
“I am a single parent of five children. I have been working here as a caregiver for the elderly for 2 years. I fled the war in Congo with my children in 2017. I went to Brazil, and it took us three months to get to Canada from there. I thought I had finally found safety here, a place where my children could live in peace. But no: my refugee application was refused in 2021. But Canada cannot deport me because there is a moratorium on deportations to Congo! That’s how my children and I became non-status,” says Nicolette, a single mother of five.
“I had a respiratory medical emergency and needed immediate medical help. A neighbor called an ambulance. But the paramedics couldn’t do their job because I didn’t have RAMQ, because of my status. My life was put in danger,” explained Sam, a former international student who arrived in Canada in 2015 from North Africa, and subsequently lost status.
“I was hired by a Canadian company to come and work here. So I arrived with a work permit which was supposed to be approved at a port of entry. To my great surprise, I learned on the spot, at the airport, that my contract had been cancelled. The border agent ordered me to leave the territory. This news devastated me. I arrived full of hope to improve my family’s situation. You cannot know what it is to invest in such a plan and the sacrifices we made. I quit my job, I left my pregnant wife in a mortgaged home. I couldn’t go back, it was too late. When I was in my country, we never managed to meet the family’s needs, to the point that sometimes we went hungry. Today, we have absolutely nothing, even the olive trees were sold to come here. Staying here is not a choice!” explained Yasser, a father of six.
“We arrived fourteen years ago in Montreal, my companion and I. We asked for refuge because of the insecurity in Mexico. Our request was rejected. Staying undocumented, you risk being abused by employers. You can’t even defend yourself by denouncing the employer because of the need to survive and keep moving forward. It is very difficult to live like this, but we prefer that to returning to our country with so much insecurity, and at our age it is very difficult to find a job.” explained Maria, an undocumented cleaner.
With the current housing and cost of living crisis, a regularization program is needed to assure the dignity and even the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of undocumented people across Canada.
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Contact: 514 222 0205 or 514 358 8836
Background: Regularization in Canada
Source: Solidarity Across Borders, www.solidarityacrossborders.org
