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Vol. 75/No. 31      September 5, 2011

 
Ottawa threatens to
deport 1,800 citizens
 
BY ANNETTE KOURI  
MONTREAL—In a move to weaken working-class unity and further restrict rights, the Canadian government recently unveiled plans to revoke 1,800 Canadian citizenships and, in a separate move, established a hit list of 30 people to arrest and immediately deport.

According to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, the 1,800 Canadian citizens are suspected of fraud in gaining citizenship, based on an ongoing, three-year investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Kenney told the National Post the 30 men targeted for immediate deportation were involved in “war crimes or crimes against humanity.”

However, none of the 30 have ever been accused, much less convicted, of any criminal charges in Canada. Rather, the Immigration and Refugee Board, turned down their appeals for asylum, according to Embassy magazine. To date at least five from the list have been arrested and two deported.

On August 3 an immigration officer announced his decision to deport Dany Villanueva to his native Honduras. His brother, Fredy Villanueva, was shot and killed by Montreal police in 2008, when he defended Dany, who was being ticketed for gambling in public because he was playing dice. Canadian authorities began action at that time to deport Dany, based on a previous conviction, but no action has been taken against the police for Fredy’s death.
 
 
Related articles:
Chicago: Hundreds protest gov’t attack on immigrants  
 
 
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