Bring Zain Home!

Tell Immigration Minister Marc Miller: Bring Zain home!

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Honourable Rachel Bendayan, I write to you to advocate for an important matter concerning the reunification of a family, which, if left unaddressed, associates Canada’s reputation with the cruel deportation policies in the United States of America. I know that this Liberal government can do better.   Zain Haq is a 24 year old nonviolent climate activist, who is married to and has been living with a Canadian citizen, Sophia Papp, for 2 years. On January 26, 2025, he was deported by the Canada Borders Services Agency (CBSA) for mischief charges arising from nonviolent civil disobedience. Not only is this decision contrary to Canadian compassionate and family values, but Zain and Sophia’s legal counsel, Randall Cohn, has stated that IRCC's rejection of their spousal sponsorship application without substantive explanation by the IRCC case-file officer is illegal, as it fails to meet the burden in law under Baker and Vavilov. The couple was also denied their right to procedural fairness under the law because the Spousal Sponsorship application was unlawfully denied a mere 48 hours before Zain's deportation date.   The lack of compassion combined with the illegality and haste of Zain's deportation is of serious concern, both in terms of common decency and in upholding the integrity of the law. Zain had been living in Canada since he was 18.   Zain Haq is a firm believer in nonviolence. Deporting Zain for his environmental leadership is unethical, and the likelihood that the Canadian government used illegal measures to split up a family is appalling and outrageous.   I ask that you: Grant Zain Haq a Temporary Resident Permit immediately, so he can reunite with Sophia in Canada; and Expedite Sophia and Zain's family class Spousal Sponsorship application.   Zain’s deportation may have the unfortunate consequence of presenting a negative view of Canada to the world, where we lack future foresight, compassion, and common sense. I urge those in power to use their lawful discretion, to bring Zain back to his wife in Canada, instead of inflicting years of undue hardship upon them.   This is a serious matter of real life significance for Zain and Sophia and their large community in BC, and also is of symbolic detriment in terms of Canada’s image in the world as a country that claims to value freedom of expression, environmental responsibility, and integrity in nonviolence and tolerance.   Thank you,

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Bring Zain Home!

On January 26, 2025, Zain Haq was deported from Canada on low-level mischief charges arising from his nonviolent climate activism.

He and his Canadian wife, Sophia Papp, had their Spousal Sponsorship application denied without substantive legal rationale – 48 hours before Zain’s deportation. A lack of substantive explanation for this decision is unprecedented and unlawful.

Deporting an individual with family ties to Canada for nonviolent, low level criminality (arising from climate activism!) is unethical, and rejecting a couple’s Spousal Sponsorship application without legal rationale is illegal – especially within 48 hrs of the deportation date.

The Minister of Immigration Marc Miller can right this wrong by granting Zain a temporary resident permit (TRP) without delay, and by expediting Sophia and Zain’s family-class Spousal Sponsorship application that they will be submitting shortly.

Please send a letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller and urge him to bring Zain home!