Jose’s Story

We Are Jose is a Canadian campaign to reverse the deportation order on Jose Figueroa. We are asking the Canadian government to respond on January 16, 2013 in honour of the end of the Salvadoran Civil War.

We are ordinary citizens who believe that Jose is just as Canadian as any one of us, and we want Canada to hear his story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB3vmxQjKh4

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Jose Figueroa is a Salvadoran-Canadian living in Langley, B.C. He’s a loving father of three and a productive member of the community. He has lived in Canada for 15 years.

He applied to Canada because he faced danger, having stood up against a repressive military dictatorship during a violent civil war in El Salvador. Canada accepted him on these grounds, but 13 years later, the government wants to deport him for the same reason because of a mistaken view of who Jose is and the politics of El Salvador.

Twenty years ago, Jose was a student organizer for the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)—an organization that opposed the military dictatorship. After the civil war ended in 1992, the FMLN became a political party and is the current government of El Salvador.

Due to some overly broad legislation, Canada has mistakenly labeled the FMLN as a terrorist organization, and Jose by extension as a terrorist—when he stood up for human rights against a military dictatorship that used death squads against any opposition.

Jose and his wife have settled down in during the past 15 years, and have three Canadian born children, including an autistic son. His children have lived in Canada all their lives, and it would be a tragedy to uproot him and his family just because the government doesn’t understand his story.

We are asking all Canadians to help us reverse the deportation order. Help us get a response from the Canadian government on January 16, 2013 in honour of the end of the Salvadoran Civil War. Visit the “Tell Your Story” section for the ways that you can support Jose.

To learn more, please visit the tabs “Canada” and “El Salvador” found above, and visit the following websites:

http://www.wearejose.com

http://josefigueroaimmigrationordeal.blogspot.com/

http://helpjose.blogspot.com/

We Are Jose videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fxMAYgQjN8

We are Jose Tour in Toronto

We are Jose Tour / Ontario-

Toronto:

March 25 – Arrives in Toronto, Greyhound Bus Terminal (6pm)

March 25- Un Canto a Romero, Yorkwoods Theatre, 1785 Finch Avenue West (7 PM)

March 26 – Asalca (Salvadorean Canadian Association) Party
Evento Cultural en Memoria a Monseñor Oscar Romero
Lithuanian Banquet Hall, 1573 Bloor Street West
(7:30 pm)

March 27 – Monseñor Romero commemoration with Jose as guest (12pm), Media event (2:30pm), forum (3pm) followed by a screening of Quien Mato a Monseñor Romero (Who Murdered Monseñor Romero)-San Lorenzo Church, ‎22 Wenderly Drive (Dufferin and one light south of Lawrence avenue West), Toronto

March 30 – Guelph community gathering – Van Gough’s Ear, 10 Wyndham St N, Guelph, ON N1H

March 31 – London Students SURLA event (10am) and Latin American-Canadian Solidarity Association (LACASA) London Event (6pm)

April 1 – Montreal

Petition for Jose Figureroa

WE ARE JOSE TOUR – SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN‏

WE ARE JOSE TOUR

Solidarity Tour to reverse the deportation of Jose Figueroa, goes cross Canada from Vancouver to Montreal and ending in Ottawa

WE ARE JOSE is a Solidarity campaign to reverse the order of deportation of Jose Figueroa, who for humanitarian reasons had to leave El Salvador because of his struggle against the repressive military dictatorship, during the armed conflict.

The Canadian state, recognized for its respect and promotion of Human Rights, welcomed José into Canada to safeguard his life. Now however, surprisingly after 13 years, the Canadian government wants to deport him for the same reason they took him in, contrary to international norms and Canadian laws.

José, his wife and his three children, one with autism, have lived in Langley, BC, for the past 13 years. Their children are Canadian citizens and have lived their whole life in Canada; it would be a tragedy for them to be taken from their family and their country just because the government does not understand their history.

We believe that the Canadian government has taken a wrong position due to an inaccurate view of who Jose is, and of the current policy of El Salvador. We are ordinary citizens who believe that Jose is as Canadian as any of us, and we call upon the Canadian government to rectify this injustice.

WE ARE JOSE TOUR,  began on March 18th visiting towns by bus along the way: Vancouver, Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, and finally Ottawa. These stops are for reference only, if there is the possibility of organizing a Teach In or just a community meeting to hear directly from Jose about what the reason is for the WE ARE JOSE TOUR, please do not hesitate to contact us through the following e-mail address: wearejosetour@gmail.com

Finally arriving in Ottawa, Jose Figueroa will try to deliver a petition, with over 15oo signatures from supporters, to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to rectify this injustice

We call upon all groups of Canadian Civil Society, Latino Community, Trade Unions, Students, Universities, Academics, Churches, NGOs and all who wish to support this noble cause, which far from being a struggle of a single migrant, is a struggle for all migrants, Canadians and non-Canadians!

We specifically need the following support:

Jose and his son arrived in TO March 25. See this link for schedule of TO area events Jose will participate in http://barrio-nuevo.org/?p=442 

To help support the trip and also Jose’s family while he is away-Donations can be sent to the Walnut Grove Luthern Church C/O Jose Figueroa Address: 20530 88 Ave. Langley, BC V1M 2Y6 .

See tour in the news: http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/canada/salvadoran_refugee_heads_to_ottawa_for_relief/8284a882

Also see link for more info:  http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?pages#!/note.php?note_id=190977924268615
And all forms and expressions that help in the promotion and dissemination of the Campaign JOSE ARE WE TOUR.

WE ARE JOSE / www.wearejose.com

BARRIO NUEVO / www.barrio-nuevo.org

We appreciate your solidarity, suggestions and ideas are welcome!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Email: wearejosetour@gmail.com

Ottawa: Laura Avalos, Asociación Salvadoreña
Canadiense de Ottawa – 819 319 0904

Toronto: Sofia Ramirez, Barrio Nuevo – 416 433 9069

Vancouver: Sasha Wood – 604 540 2126

www.wearejose.com

January 16th We Are Jose Events Across Canada, join in!

JOIN & SUPPORT WE ARE JOSE JAN.16 2011

READ THE STATEMENT AND MEDIA RELEASE

A Canadian campaign to reverse the deportation order against José Figueroa

People from all walks of life and community-based organizations are joining forces to reverse the deportation order against José Figueroa and his family and are making a call to all to join the WE ARE JOSE campaign. Several initiatives are being organized for the WE ARE JOSE Campaign held across several Canadians cities on January 16^th, 2011.

WE ARE JOSE supporters believe that the Canadian government’s decision to deport José is a mistake and that this error impacts not only Jose and his family but also puts many Canadians of Salvadorean origin at risk of deportation. The campaign requests that the Canadian government, in particular the Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, respond to the demand to grant José an exemption by January 16^th declaring him no threat to national security, in honour of the Salvadorean Peace Agreement and as a reminder to Canadians that our country played a key role in putting an end to El Salvador’s bloody 12-year civil war.

Join the WE ARE JOSE National Day of support, Jan. 16 2011

In Ottawa, ON:

Vigil at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin St. (at Lisgar), 4:30pm
Bring candles, lanterns and banners. Guest speakers & artists!

In Langley, BC:
Vigil at Walnut Grove Luthern Church, 6:00 pm
20530 88th Avenue, Langley, BC V1M 2Y6                                                                   Bring candles. Guest speakers and music!

In Toronto, ON:

San Lorenzo Church, 22 Wenderly Drive Toronto, ON Sunday, January 16 · 1:30pm – 2:30pm. The vigil will take place after the regular noon mass at San Lorenzo.

For more information please contact :  wearejose@gmail.com

Or you may contact Ottawa: Laura Avalos, Salvadorian Canadian Association of Ottawa, 819.319.0904; Vancouver: Sasha Wood, 604.540-2126, Langley, B.C., Walnut Grove Lutheran Church, 20530-88 Avenue, Langley

Jose Figueroa in the News

CTV-Community Rallies to Keep Jose Figueroa in BC
CTV-Refugee Claimant ordered out after living in Canada for years
Langley father of three in final fight to stay in Canada
Montreal Gazette -Director, actor Martin Sheen, add voices against deportation
CTV-Support Floods in from Across Canada for Figueroa
CTV -Deportees Autistic son pleads for intervention
CBC-The National coverage of Jose Figueroa
Langley Times, September 28th: Langley father of three in final fight to stay in Canada
CBC news article

SFU Documentary about Jose’s case

Documentary: The Jose Figueroa Story

SFU students Kevin Church and Sashar Hosseinnia created a 20 minute documentary about Jose’s case.

It is incredibly informative and covers the history of the Salvadoran Civil War, and how the FMLN had become wrongfully associated with “terrorism” because of the overly broad anti-terrorism legislation that came into effect in 2001.

We Are Jose Supporter Videos

Standing Up For Human Rights Can Make You A Terrorist In Canada

Jose Figueroa, a 13 year resident of BC and father of three children, was recently ordered deported by the Canadian government. This is because while in college 20 years ago in his native El Salvador, he spoke out against a military dictatorship that used death squads to kill any opposition. His case reveals that due to the excessively broad definition of terrorism introduced into the immigration and refugee act in 1992, any immigrant or refugee associated with an armed opposition group opposing a government is now at risk of being referred to as a terrorist—even if engaged in legal and democratic means of opposition.

On May 2010, the Immigration and Refugee board, on recommendations by the Ministry of Public Safety, claimed that Jose Figueroa was inadmissible according to anti-terrorism legislation. Jose was considered to be inadmissible because of his work with a student group, associated with the opposition group the FMLN—which was an organization that opposed the repressive  government of El Salvador using armed force during the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980’s. The Immigration and Refugee hearing member, that presided over Jose’s case, stated that Jose’s actions in speaking out against the repression of the state government were in fact commendable, and that there was no evidence to indicate that Jose Figueroa had committed any violent act. However, because it was determined that the FMLN group used armed resistance against the military dictatorship, and one sector of the FMLN’s organization had killed members of the government, the Immigration and Refugee Board ordered Jose be deported—because they claimed that his past association with the FMLN made him a terror threat.

People associated with the FMLN were opposing El Salvador’s government because of its human rights violations. The government in power at the time was violently repressive, not democratic, and killed any opposition. The United Nations Truth report about the war stated that the government was responsible for over 85 percent of the human rights abuses and killings of civilians and the FMLN only 5 percent. People joined the FMLN group in opposition to the state government because that offered hope for stopping the violence and oppression as there was no democratic means available to oppose the government.
It would be appropriate to refer to an armed group opposing a democratic government as terrorists. The aim of terrorist legislation should be to ensure that democratic means of opposition are used in a democracy. However, the application of anti-terrorism legislation is inappropriate in the El Salvadoran context because the government the FMLN opposed, in the 1980’s and the early 1990’s, was a murderous military dictatorship—it was not a democracy. There was no other option available other than to oppose the government with armed force. In fact, the Mexican and French governments recognized the FMLN as a legitimate military opposition August 28^th, 1981 because of this.

So how is it that the Canadian government is mistakenly referring to the FMLN as a terrorist organization? During the conflict in El Salvador, the United States supported the violent repression used against civilians by the military dictatorship, attempted to keep the massacres a secret, and pretended that the El Salvador government was a legitimate democracy (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufina_Amaya ). As long as they kept that lie, the repression could continue with impunity and the FMLN could be seen as an illegitimate, terrorist opposition. However, in 1992, the atrocities that were carried out by the military dictatorship were revealed to the world when a lone survivor of a violent attack in the village of El Mozote spoke to two American journalists. At first the United States denied the evidence and discounted the witness’s testimony. However, this testimony led to the discovery of mass graves and a UN investigation. The UN Truth Commission report of 1992 detailed horrendous killing by the El Salvadoran government, with over 70,000 civilians deaths. Following the signing of a Peace Agreement in January 16th 1992, the FMLN was recognized as a legitimate political opposition.

Now it could be understandable that the Canada government prior to the 1992 Truth Commission report might have categorized the FMLN as a terrorist group due to the biased evidence available at the time. However, after 1992 and the publication of the UN Truth report when the truth of the conflict became known and it was acknowledged that the El Salvador state government had been responsible for the majority of the human rights abuses—then it is completely inappropriate that the Canadian government continues to refer to the FMLN as a terrorist organization.

Here is a case of someone, who as a student, stood up for human rights and voiced opposition against a violent dictatorship, is being deported as a terrorist. What is clear, regardless of how or why the FMLN continues to be mistakenly referred to as a terrorist group, is that the Canadian government continues to mistakenly refer to the FMLN as a terrorist organization. As a result, an innocent man and his family are being deported, and all members of the FMLN who stood up for human rights are at risk of being mistakenly referred to as terrorists by the Canadian government.

Please ask the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to correct this mistake.

-written by Sasha Wood

Implications of Jose’s Case

Jose Figueroa’s case, besides causing hardships for himself and his family, presents a number of potential problems for many other Canadians. Firstly, Jose’s case bears implications for the large Salvadoran Canadian community. Leaving the topic of country of origin aside, though, Jose’s case also presents implications for others going through the immigration process, and even for Canadian citizens more generally.

For other Salvadoran Canadians, Jose’s case is a troubling turn of events. What is especially unsettling about Jose’s story is that he did not withhold his participation in the Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN), and his speaking out against the brutally repressive regime in El Salvador upon moving to Canada. In fact, this membership was a central part of his original refugee claim. Only now, after living more than ten years in his community of Langley, B.C. and having fathered three Canadian born children, is he being asked to leave the country he now calls home due to his non-violent actions as a university student two decades ago. What’s more, the organization that Jose took part in during the Salvadoran civil war, the FMLN, now forms the democratically elected and internationally recognized government in El Salvador.

Jose’s case sends a daunting message to Salvadoran Canadians: that their status as Canadian citizens is neither stable nor meaningful. If the Canadian government was able to commit such a grievous mistake as to ask for Jose’s deportation, there is no reason to think that a similar misunderstanding could not repeat itself with fellow Salvadoran Canadians, regardless of their familial situation in Canada or the extent to which returning to El Salvador might harm their well-being.

For other, non-Salvadoran people going through the immigration process, Jose’s case holds serious implications as well. Jose’s participation in the resistance against the former authoritarian regime in El Salvador was not violent, nor did he commit any acts deemed as violent or subversive while living here in Canada. Does this mean that anyone who has spoken out against a violent or repressive state prior to his or her coming to Canada is eligible for deportation? While this is most likely untrue, Jose’s case highlights the uncertainty that nonetheless surrounds immigration and refugee application to Canada.

Finally, Jose’s deportation is significant in that it arguably goes against Canadian values. We are a country that views civil liberties and democracy as matters of the utmost importance and worth. The deportation of Jose Figueroa, who lobbied against a repressive authoritarian regime and for a democratic alternative in a non-violent manner, does not seem to be cohesive with Canadian values. As Canadians, we should stand by these values instead of neglecting them and allowing a grave misunderstanding that may define our immigration policy.

-written by Julia Malmo

Terrorism, Nelson Mandela, and a Salvadoran refugee: The human cost of legislative vagueness in Canada’s refugee law

Jose Figueroa’s deportation ordeal may be attributed to what was arguably an avoidable misuse of section 34(1)(f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This component of Canadian refugee law states that all members of organizations considered terrorist or subversive to any government, are inadmissable to Canada [1]. In Mr. Figueroa’s case, the Canadian government defines “terrorism” as any “act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act” [2]. Although this legislation may seem reasonable at first glance, section 34(1)(f) has been repeatedly challenged for its vague character [3]. However, some of these challenges have been checked with a legal provision [3], found in the same act, which  allows ministers to grant exemptions to applicants whom they find to not threaten Canada’s “national interest” [1]. One could interpret this as the mistakes made by the discretionary vagueness of one law being corrected by the discretionary vagueness of another.

Consider the case of Eugenio Chicas. He is a prominent Salvadoran judge who, after being invited by Elections Canada to a conference in Ottawa, was detained for 24 hours in June 2009 on the basis of his FMLN membership [4]. Fortunately for Mr. Chicas, a well respected, high level official in the currently elected FMLN government, he was eventually allowed to partake in the conference and received apologies from Elections Canada and Canadian bureaucrats for what happened [4]. Unfortunately for applicants such as Mr. Figueroa, the majority of cases are not so high profile. Thus, the majority of applicants are often resigned to a queue where they wait in limbo for years [3]. Ministerial relief is refused in the majority of cases [3].

In light of such cases, one can see how problematic it is that government employees, who are not specialists on the geographic regions from which refugee applicants originate, are simply matching up vaguely defined criteria [5, 6]. These criteria can easily be applied even to people whom normally it would be unthinkable to label as dangerous, let alone accomplices to terrorism. Case in point: Nelson Mandela. Celebrated as a hero of social justice throughout the world, Dr. Mandela is well known to have been a prominent leader and later president of the African National Congress, the rebel movement that eventually toppled the racist Apartheid regime. Because this noble goal was accomplished with violent means, someone like Dr. Mandela could easily be refused if he were to apply for refugee status in Canada. Arguably, Mr. Figueroa’s application could be considered even less contestable than Dr. Mandela’s would be. In the words of the Minister’s representative who singlehandedly assessed Mr. Figueroa’s case, the “very young” student Mr. Figueroa was “a member only of some political part of the organization [who] never killed, never carried weapons, didn’t direct anyone else to do that [and who’s] only purpose was to co-ordinate matters so as to open up the minds of the people to new and better political realities” [6]. He is also a respectable, productive member of his community who has lived in Langley with his wife and three Canadian children for over a decade, and who’s friends and pastor have repeatedly voiced their support for him [2]. Thus, it is evident that Mr. Figueroa poses no danger to Canada’s national interest and so he is very much eligible for ministerial relief. Unfortunately, this last legal safeguard may be as elusive for Mr. Figueroa as our government’s current refugee legislation is vague.

[1] http://www.legislationline.org/download/action/download/id/1169/file/9f43fe62b2b3d64e5f760d63d5dd.pdf

[2] http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/09/20/OttawasFlawedMemory/

[3] http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/4/0/7/4/7/p407475_index.html

[4] http://www.canadaeast.com/news/article/711359

[5] https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6k6kMnV8WPaMGRhNjZiNjQtNGYwOS00NTBkLWI0YWUtNTYyMjlmMGM1YzJm

[6] Edelmann, P. (2010, October). Teach-In: Fighting Unjust Deportation. Speech presented at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.

-written by Pawel Mirski