Rally at U of R in Protest of Deportation of Two Former [Nigerian] Students

BY DAVID FRASER/THE LEADER POST

Victoria Sharon Ordu, left, and Ihuoma Favour Amad, two former University of Regina students who face deportation back to Nigeria after mistakenly taking jobs at a local Wal-Mart, something their status as international students does not permit. File Photo: Troy Fleece/Leader Post

REGINA — Support for two former University of Regina students facing deportation appears to be growing.

On Monday, close to 100 students and faculty gathered at the University of Regina to support two students, Victoria Ordu and Ihuoma Amadi, who are facing deportation. The two Nigerian exchange students worked two weeks at Walmart earlier this year. Under the parameters of their visas, they weren’t permitted to do so. The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) discovered the mistake and ordered both to be deported. Ordu and Amadi sought shelter in a Regina church and have stayed there since June.

This was the second protest supporting Ordu and Amadi this month. Brennan Dyck, a film student at the U of R, was in attendance at Monday’s rally. He thinks deportation is too harsh a punishment.

“That’s not worthy. It’s not like they’re drug dealers or gang (members),” he said.

Ordu and Amadi were removed from university classes, which they had been taking online, said vice-president of external relations for the U of R Barbara Pollock.

“The students’ visas were not viable once they were given deportation orders,” she said, adding the university has requested the deportation penalty be reconsidered.

That request has been made at least 1,050 times to Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney and Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews: that’s how many signatures a petition supporting the two students has so far.

There has been little response from either minister. Kenney defers the matter to Toews. An emailed statement from Toews’ office indicates the CBSA is not willing to budge on the issue.

“A key part of the CBSA mandate is to remove those who violate Canada’s immigration laws as soon as possible,” the statement read. “Everyone ordered removed from Canada is entitled to due process before the law. This case is no different. Thousands of students come to Canada each year to study. The student visa system can only function if those students who receive visas respect and adhere to the conditions of their visa, such as remaining in school and only working as permitted by their visa.”

Officials from the CBSA wouldn’t comment on whether or not they’ll storm the church Ordu and Amadi are hiding in, but did say the CBSA “does not condone seeking refuge inside a church.”

According to Kay Adebogun, an immigration consultant assisting the two women, the church is where they will stay.

“They are willing to stay if it takes a whole year to resolve their case,” he said.

Adebogun said Ordu and Amadi are grateful for the support received so far and hopes they will be allowed to finish their education, adding they will be reduced to poverty in Nigeria if sent home without degrees.

“They don’t want to wait forever, but that’s part of the struggle,” he said.

Next Monday a rally supporting Ordu and Amadi will be held in Ottawa.

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NIGERIA: Two University Of Regina Students Seek Sanctuary As They Face Deportation

By Emma Graney/The Leader Post

Victoria Sharon Ordu, left, and Ihuoma Favour Amadi sit together at an undisclosed location on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 in Regina, Sask. The two face deportation back to Nigeria after mistakenly taking jobs at a local Wal-Mart, something their status as international students does not permit Photo: Troy Fleece/Leader Post.

REGINA — Sitting inside a church, University of Regina students Victoria Ordu and Ihuoma Amadi start as a prairie wind rattles the front door.

Ordu glances over, eyes wary, before flicking toward the window at the back of the church she now calls home.

Sunshine streams through the glass, but that’s the only taste of the outside world the two girls have been able to get since June 19, when they opted to seek sanctuary in the church.

The fear of being found by the Canada Border Services Agency and deported back home to Nigeria hangs over their heads — all because they worked for two weeks at Walmart. They have spent each day hoping federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney — the only one who can change their fate — will grant them pardons.

The daily stress of it has, they say, been “hell.”

U of R President Vianne Timmons has visited them at the church and the school has contacted the federal government, throwing its support behind the students’ plea to stay in Canada and complete their education.

Amadi and Ordu have also written letters to Kenney, but no one has had a response.

And so, they wait.

“This is a small mistake we made, and now everything is at risk,” Ordu says, clasping her shaking hands in her lap.

“It doesn’t make any sense. They’re looking for us like we’ve killed someone. We’re just students at university ... but it’s like we’re running away and living in fear every day.”

As part of their visas, international students like Ordu — who is studying theatre arts — and Amadi — international studies — are able to work on campus.

Both in Canada on full scholarships paid for by their government, Ordu and Amadi went to Service Canada and got their Social Insurance Numbers when they arrived in 2010, ending up working at the university.

Last year, Amadi found a part-time job at Walmart and Ordu at an agency that does demonstrations at the store.

Both were under the misapprehension their SINs allowed them to work outside the U of R. Ordu quit after two weeks, as soon as she found out that wasn’t the case.

Amadi discovered her mistake during her second week on the job — and was led away from her till in handcuffs by two CBSA agents.

“They led me through the store, in front of everyone, and all the customers were looking at me like ‘What have you done?’” she recalls, looking at the floor.

“I just felt so embarrassed.”

Kay Adebogun is a Regina immigration consultant who has taken on their case pro bono.

“Why go to that level of force?” he says.

“Why parade her out of there like she’s a criminal?”

Barb Pollock, U of R spokeswoman, says while the school respects the fact laws have to be upheld, it is trying to advocate for a reconsideration of the girls’ case.

“We think that the penalty, perhaps, is a bit severe for the crime,” she says.

“Albeit that laws have been contravened, in light of what they have done to contravene the law, we would like them to have an opportunity to complete their education with us ... (and) we think it is a harsh penalty to be deported.”

Pollock says the university has written to Kenney but has yet to receive an indication of when it might receive a decision from the minister.

Both students say they admitted their mistake right away, but think the CBSA’s decision to deport them — which went to an admissibility hearing — is an over-reaction.

“It’s a huge deal to finish school, come back (to Nigeria) and help the country,” Amadi says.

“Now to think we lose three years of our lives because of a small mistake? If there was a fine, a warning, that would be more reasonable. I just wish they could look at this from a human point of view.”

Pollock agrees the case demonstrates how important it is for international students to understand Canadian laws.

“We have to make sure our students really understand what it means to come here and go to school — what the opportunities are and, at the same time, what the limits are,” she says.

“The fact something may not have been clear, you can be assured we’re making that very clear with our incoming students now.”

Adebogun would like to see a reversal in the decision to deport Ordu and Amadi, but he also thinks there are bigger issues at play with how the two were treated.

Of particular concern, he says, is the fact both students were asked by CBSA workers for names of other Nigerian students who were working and even if they knew anybody in a gang.

“They agree they did something wrong, but they should have a second chance,” Adebogun says.

CBSA could not provide a comment on Tuesday but is expected to provide information on the case on Wednesday.