'My heart is so much hurting': Kenyan father facing deportation pleads to stay

A Kenyan man who is under threat of deportation is questioning why his refugee application was denied and why he may be forced to leave Canada.

David Kipkoech Keter cradles his five-month-old daughter in his arms as he sits on the couch next to his wife, Kalombe Mukuba, in his Halifax apartment. They are worried that the life they've built together is about to fall apart.

"I don't know what will happen to my life," Keter says. "I don't know what will happen to my family."

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. He does not want to make public any further details about that claim, because if he is deported it could increase his risk of persecution, he says.

His refugee application was denied, as was a humanitarian and compassionate claim and a pre-removal risk assessment application.

He says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada determined that Kenya is safe for him to return to, but he disputes that.

"I think persecution is already over there, like, waiting for me.… [I'm] fearing of my life, like, OK, maybe they going to kill me."

In April, he received a letter from the Canada Border Services Agency asking him to obtain travel documents in preparation for deportation, which is scheduled for June 9.

He has complied with all of the agency's demands, despite his fears of being deported.

"I am a good abiding citizen. I follow the process," he says. "I have to produce for them, although my heart is so much hurting."

Keter and Mukuba are holding out some hope that Mukuba's spousal sponsorship application for permanent residency, which was filed in August, will be successful. And they question why Keter is being deported before that process concludes.

A petition aimed at stopping his deportation has garnered more than 10,000 signatures.

'Risking my life' during early pandemic

Although Keter came to Canada by himself, he soon created a new life here. He met his wife, a Canadian citizen, and her son, who is now 10, and they recently had a baby. Both children are also Canadian citizens.

Keter says he has worked hard during his time in Canada, has no criminal record and pays his taxes.

He held jobs in a food-processing plant and in a nursing home, including during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Everything I work over there like, on that pandemic time, was like just risking my life, you know?"

More recently, he has been working as a shipper-receiver.

Keter says he's worried about the effects on his family if he has to leave the country, including the mental health impacts on his children.

"They're going to be asking, 'Where is dad?'"

Mukuba says she, too, is stressed about the situation. She works as a housekeeper for a long-term care home, but is currently on maternity leave.

"If they want to take my husband, they can take us all together. We can go. That is my decision. We are ready to go together," she says. "I can't survive myself again with my kids. It's very hard."

Decision 'not taken lightly,' says CBSA

Keter has spoken with Liberal MP Andy Fillmore's office to explain his situation and ask for assistance.

Fillmore's office confirmed in a statement they have been in touch with the family as well as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. A spokesperson for Fillmore's office said they cannot share more details due to privacy considerations.

The CBSA also said it could not comment on specific cases, but "the decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly."

"There are multiple steps built into the process to ensure procedural fairness and the CBSA only actions a removal order once all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted," a spokesperson for the agency wrote in a statement.

"The CBSA has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals and permanent residents that are inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act."

Claim can be hard to prove

Aleks Selim Dughman Manzur is the co-executive director of Rainbow Refugee, a Vancouver-based group that assists people fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or HIV status.

One of the main challenges facing LGBTQ refugee claimants is that they may not have evidence to support their claim, says Dughman Manzur, who uses the pronouns they/them.

"When you have not told anyone about it and even conceal your identity so that you are not actively being persecuted, then it's very hard when you are here to try to establish that that is the case," they say.

Refugee claimants who fall outside the binaries of gay or straight, or man or woman — such as people who are bisexual or who identify as non-binary — can face even greater difficulty in making a successful claim, Dughman Manzur says.

Those who are perceived as conforming to binary gender roles may also have difficulty attaining credibility in a refugee claim.

"So even if you are perceived to be in a heteronormative or a straight relationship, you might still be part of the LGBTQ community," Dughman Manzur says.

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada does have a policy to help decision-makers understand the challenges facing such claimants.

Guideline 9 states that staff should not rely on stereotypes or incorrect assumptions about a claimant based on their appearance, marital or parental status or comfort with disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity to others.

"My question would be, is IRB members across the board from coast to coast actually applying guideline No. 9 in a consistent manner? And those who are not, what kind of training they're receiving?" Dughman Manzur says.

They also point out that prejudice and racism — particularly against claimants from African countries — can influence decisions made by federal immigration officials.

'I love Canada'

Keter says he will do what he can to remain in Canada right up to his June 9 removal date.

"I have to fight for it because this is my family. I can't leave my family," he says.

"I love Canada and I want to be part of it.… So that's why I'm praying like they can allow me to stay, keep my family."