Community supports Montreal family of five facing deportation to Mexico

A community is rallying behind a family of five who have lived in Montreal for six years and now face deportation in a few days.

Jose Zumudio and Norma Quintana, as well as their three children, fled Mexico in 2018 and sought asylum in Canada. Their lawyers say it is a matter of life and death to keep them in Quebec.

According to their lawyer, they fled the country after threats from one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels.

“They are one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world and they have received death threats for not paying protection money,” said human rights lawyer Stewart Istvanffy.

Jose Zumudio and his children in Quebec. (Submitted photo)

On Tuesday, Istvanffy tried to get a stay of deportation in federal court. The family has lived in Quebec for six years.

Their asylum application was not processed until 2021. The Immigration and Refugee Council rejected their asylum application, even after a pre-deportation risk assessment, which is supposed to ensure that people who are deported do not face persecution.

“They believed in the danger, they were told they could go and live somewhere else in Mexico, which we think is crazy. Mexico is in a very serious human rights crisis, and you cannot get protection from people like that,” their lawyer said.

Their plight has received support from many in their community, including their children’s school. Family friend Marie-Eve Rancourt’s children attend the same school in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

“We started a petition at the end of last week… and have collected over 1,300 signatures,” Rancourt said.

She worries about what will happen to the family if the deportation is not postponed.

“The children only know Quebec. They have friends here, they learned French here … as a society we have already invested a lot in this family,” she said.

“I hope that the federal court will do its job and respect our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our obligations under international law, and that they will not be deported next Friday,” Istvanffy added.

Meanwhile, they say politicians are their only hope and are calling on the federal immigration minister to intervene. CTV News reached out to Marc Miller’s office but was told it does not comment on individual cases.

“It’s a matter of life and death,” Istvanffy said.

The judge is expected to make a ruling later this week. In the meantime, the family will be deported on Friday.