05-02-2006, 06:57 PM
Father says immigration officials 'abused' his children
Last Updated Tue, 02 May 2006 11:56:19 EDT CBC News
The father of two children targeted by immigration officials at their Toronto school says what happened to his daughters was "abuse." On Friday, immigration officials threatened to remove Alvaro Serdas's two daughters from St. Jude Catholic School unless their parents showed up within half an hour.
The family had been ordered to return to Costa Rica. Critics charge that the students were used as bait to find and deport their parents.
Their mother came to the school soon after and was taken with her daughters, aged 7 and 14, to a detention centre. They were later released.
Speaking through an interpreter, Serdas said he feels the tactics used by immigration officials amounts to abuse against his family.
"They don't feel emotionally well. They feel trapped. They feel they're being chased like criminals," he told CBC News.
The Serdases came from Costa Rica three years ago. Deportation orders were issued for them in 2005 after their applications for refugee status were rejected.
The family is now in hiding.
Second recent incident
In a similar incident on Thursday, immigration officials reportedly took a 14-year-old boy and his 15-year-old sister out of classes at Dante Alighieri Academy in Toronto and escorted them outside, where their grandparents and mother were waiting in a van.
The students and their parents arrived in Canada five years ago as visitors from Costa Rica. They applied for refugee status, citing fears they'd been targeted by a dangerous drug dealer. The students' grandparents later joined them in Canada.
Officials denied the family's application and ordered them onto a deportation flight. A warrant was issued for their arrest when they missed the flight.
Toronto Catholic District School Board chair Oliver Carroll described what happened at the two schools as outrageous.
"It's not the type of thing that I think should go on in the schools, even if they have the legal right," he told CBC News.
"People have legal rights to do all types of things, but schools should be some place that children see as relatively safe."
The federal minister of public safety, Stockwell Day, has promised to investigate both incidents.
However, Monte Solberg, the federal minister of immigration and citizenship, wouldn't comment Monday when asked whether his officials should go into schools to seek out illegal immigrants.
"There are 800,000 people who are trying to get into Canada today legally," Solberg said in the House of Commons.
"What message does it send if we allow people who are here without documents to get ahead of those who are playing by the rules?"
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]
Last Updated Tue, 02 May 2006 11:56:19 EDT CBC News
The father of two children targeted by immigration officials at their Toronto school says what happened to his daughters was "abuse." On Friday, immigration officials threatened to remove Alvaro Serdas's two daughters from St. Jude Catholic School unless their parents showed up within half an hour.
The family had been ordered to return to Costa Rica. Critics charge that the students were used as bait to find and deport their parents.
Their mother came to the school soon after and was taken with her daughters, aged 7 and 14, to a detention centre. They were later released.
Speaking through an interpreter, Serdas said he feels the tactics used by immigration officials amounts to abuse against his family.
"They don't feel emotionally well. They feel trapped. They feel they're being chased like criminals," he told CBC News.
The Serdases came from Costa Rica three years ago. Deportation orders were issued for them in 2005 after their applications for refugee status were rejected.
The family is now in hiding.
Second recent incident
In a similar incident on Thursday, immigration officials reportedly took a 14-year-old boy and his 15-year-old sister out of classes at Dante Alighieri Academy in Toronto and escorted them outside, where their grandparents and mother were waiting in a van.
The students and their parents arrived in Canada five years ago as visitors from Costa Rica. They applied for refugee status, citing fears they'd been targeted by a dangerous drug dealer. The students' grandparents later joined them in Canada.
Officials denied the family's application and ordered them onto a deportation flight. A warrant was issued for their arrest when they missed the flight.
Toronto Catholic District School Board chair Oliver Carroll described what happened at the two schools as outrageous.
"It's not the type of thing that I think should go on in the schools, even if they have the legal right," he told CBC News.
"People have legal rights to do all types of things, but schools should be some place that children see as relatively safe."
The federal minister of public safety, Stockwell Day, has promised to investigate both incidents.
However, Monte Solberg, the federal minister of immigration and citizenship, wouldn't comment Monday when asked whether his officials should go into schools to seek out illegal immigrants.
"There are 800,000 people who are trying to get into Canada today legally," Solberg said in the House of Commons.
"What message does it send if we allow people who are here without documents to get ahead of those who are playing by the rules?"
[FONT=Verdana,Arial][/FONT]