The head of a Filipino migrant workers' group in Canada faces the threat of deportation after authorities there determined there's no risk to his life if he returns to the Philippines. Rowena Papasin reports. #TFCNews Like and follow TFC News Facebook: https://facebook.com/TFCNewsNow Twitter: https://twitter.com/TFCNewsNow Website: https://mytfc.com/news News website: https://news.abs-cbn.com/tfcnews Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here: http://iwanttfc.com Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews #TFC #TheFilipinoChannel #TFCNewsBritishColumbia #ABSCBNNews #TVPatrol

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The deportation order against Migrante Canada Chairperson Danilo De Leon was deferred last August after a federal court in Ottawa ordered Immigration Canada to review his pre-removal risk assessment application.

But after three months of review, Immigration Canada rejected De Leon's application and maintained that they see no risk to his life if he returns to the Philippines.

Ang punto ron is yung risk ko pag ako napauwi sa Pilipinas. Dahil pwede akong salubungin sa airport pa lang, lalo pag alam nila na yung deportation ko, alam nila kung kailan.

Sabi nila na walang risk akong mapapauwi sa Pilipinas, safe ako, okay naman ako mapauwi. Which is hindi naman nila alam kung ano yung totoo.

Immigration Canada's decision was reached on November 5, 2022, but De Leon only received their letter on December 29 during the Christmas holidays.

In January, his lawyer filed a request for leave and a judicial review of Immigration Canada's decision before the federal court of Edmonton.

De Leon, who first came to Canada in 2009 as one of the temporary foreign workers who helped fill the labor shortages in the country at that time, said he has never been a burden to Canada.

Hindi naman kami pumasok dito ng illegal lang. Nung kailangan ng Canada ng worker, dumating kami at nagtrabaho. Hindi lang basta trabaho dahil talagang nagtrabaho kami ng maayos.

Various progressive groups led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees or QP, the largest labor union in Canada, have joined the calls to stop the deportation of De Leon.

Elected officials have also expressed their support for the grant of permanent residency to De Leon on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Filipino-Canadian lawmaker Mabel Elmore wrote a letter to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser where she stressed that De Leon should not be made to pay the price for the problems in the immigration system.

Elmore also called on Fraser to act on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's mandate letter for the regularization of undocumented workers, which De Leon also echoed.

Maraming undocumented na nag-e-struggle dito sa Canada, maraming undocumented na naabuso dahil sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon. Tao rin kami, kailangan namin ng tulong, kailangang kilalanin ang aming contribution.

When asked about De Leon's court challenge, Fraser said he cannot comment on any case that is pending before the courts.

If we decide as a department that there is a good reason to oppose a court case that comes through, we make that assessment once we see what the court case against us is.

I don't have news to report on the position on a particular case. Again, when something's either before the courts or involves an individual's privacy, we are not at liberty to discuss the particulars of an individual file.

A Change.org petition calling on Fraser to stop De Leon's deportation has almost reached its target of 1,500 signatures. De Leon vows to continue to fight against his deportation until he has exhausted all avenues available to him.

Hanggat hindi ko nakikita yung decision na talagang umabot ako sa punto na yung dead end, hanggat hindi ako maabot na sa punto na yan, I will keep on fighting.

De Leon said he continues to report in person to the Canada Border Services Agency or CBSA every two weeks and by phone twice a week as he awaits the final decision on his request for leave and judicial review.

Eko na papasin, ABS-CBN News, Vancouver.