1.23.2009

good news! war resister kim rivera granted stay of deportation

Thank every god and goddess you can think of. Kimberly Rivera and her family have been granted a stay of deportation.

The stay is a little strange.

When Kim first learned her deportation date, she asked for a deferral, and that request was denied by the Immigration official.

Now the Federal Court may want to hear an appeal of that decision not to defer, because it did not take into account the needs of the Rivera children. While it considers whether to hear that appeal, the Riveras will be allowed to remain in Canada.

However, the Court did not indicate whether it will hear Kim's appeal of the negative decisions on her Humanitarian and Compassionate application. We await further news on this.

Today's decision is very welcome, especially after what happened to Cliff Cornell and Chris Teske this week. But the danger of deportation still hangs over Kim, over the Hart family, and over Dean Walcott.

Thank you to everyone who has sent emails, made phone calls, and otherwise put pressure on the Harper Government to Let Them Stay. We urge all our friends and supporters to keep up that pressure until we achieve the victory that the war resisters deserve.

And a huge round of applause to lawyer Alyssa Manning for her fine work in court!

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