Kenyan man living in Halifax gets 6-month reprieve from deportation

A Kenyan man whose deportation was set for Friday has received a six-month reprieve, allowing him to stay with his Canadian family in Halifax until December.

"I was so much happy about that," David Kipkoech Keter said this week. "When I got a deferral that is when my heart now, like, I just have a little bit time."

Keter came to Canada from Kenya on a visitor visa in 2016 and claimed refugee status on the basis that he is gender non-conforming.

His asylum application, as well as a humanitarian and compassionate claim and pre-removal risk assessment application were all rejected, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada determined Kenya is safe for him to return to.

In April, he received a letter from the Canada Border Services Agency asking him to obtain travel documents in preparation for deportation.

Since arriving in Canada, Keter has been working, including at a food-processing plant and in a nursing home. He's also gotten married and become a father. His wife, her son from a previous relationship and the couple's six-month-old daughter are all Canadian citizens.

He fears for his life if he returns to Kenya, he said, but does not want details of his claim made public as it could increase his risk of persecution if he is deported.

As his deportation date grew closer, Keter switched lawyers, and last week, his new lawyer, Godfred Chongatera, filed a request to the Canada Border Services Agency to defer his deportation.

The request argued that Keter needs to stay in Canada to look after his infant daughter until she can go to daycare. Since Keter is unable to work at the moment due to the deportation proceedings, Keter's wife, Kalombe Mukuba, must return to work from maternity leave to support the family.

The deferral was granted on June 2.

Deportation still looms

Although the deferral is a welcome relief to the family, the threat of deportation still looms. Keter's new deportation date is set for Dec. 1.

"I'm not 100 per cent happy," he said. "I still have a long way to go, so I can't rest."

In the meantime, the family is pinning their hopes on a spousal sponsorship application filed last October to attain permanent residency for Keter.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's processing time for such applications is currently about 14 months. Keter, his family and his lawyer are hopeful they will receive a decision on that application before his new deportation date.

"I'm just still praying for them to help me approve my spousal application so that I can have my family together," Keter said. "We only have faith and trust in that, and prayers."

Return after deportation challenging

Chongatera said filing a spousal sponsorship application for permanent residence does not necessarily stop the deportation process.

If Keter does eventually get deported, Chongatera said, it would be difficult for him to gain permission to return to Canada.

"Deportations by their nature tend to be permanent unless you can demonstrate by writing to the minister and asking for permission to come back in. But that's really a tall order," he said. "Whilst it is possible that he can come back, it's not probable."

Chongatera said he believes Keter is a good candidate to remain in Canada permanently.

"He's still a young person. He has a family here. He's motivated to work and there is no question that if he were to stay here, he would be a contributing member of this society," he said. "As his lawyer, my goal is to see him stay and to stay and support his family."

A petition aimed at stopping his deportation has garnered more than 11,000 signatures.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.