For Natasha Gordon-Jones and her family, the end of the school year was not going to be a happy time.
Facing deportation to Jamaica, where they fear their lives will be in jeopardy, the widowed family had been given a deferral by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to the middle of the month, so her children could finish the school year.
That date has now passed with no order coming. But the future is no clearer for the St. Catharines family.
With June nearly over, the family’s status remains in limbo. The family was expecting another notice to report to the CBSA for deportation, but most of them haven’t gotten one, said Dinah Smith, from the African Canadian Legal Clinic.
“The mom and the two young children haven’t received a notice, so we’re hoping for something good happening behind the scenes,” Smith said.
Gordon-Jones has spent the last five years in St. Catharines, Ont. trying to keep her family safe after her husband’s murder in Jamaica.
The CBSA did not immediately respond to a request for information about the family’s file.
Gordon-Jones’s 23-year-old daughter, however, did receive a notice to report for deportation this week. The legal clinic was able to get a two-week deferral as they work to keep her in Canada.
The daughter is married to a Canadian, and is applying for citizenship on those grounds, Smith said. The rest of the family is seeking citizenship on compassionate grounds.
The family of four from Jamaica gained support from the St. Catharines community after their story was made public by one of her sons. Joshua-Lee Jones, 17, told his classmates the story of his family’s struggles that led to their coming to Canada, including his father being murdered for refusing to pay extortion money to a gang.
Smith says the ordeal has been very difficult for the family.
“It’s really tough on them — it’s just looming over their heads,” she said.
“It’s been quite trying for the family.”
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