No Compassion on Immigration

Letter to the Editor, March 3, 2014

Re: Protesters seek accountability on immigration

The tragic death of Lucia Vega Jimenez, a Mexican woman who strangled herself in immigration detention in Vancouver, underscores this country’s increasing callousness, which leaves migrants in impossible situations.

The case of Kurshid Begum Awan is another example: In the face of deportation to a situation of extreme danger in her country of origin, this grandmother in her late 50s with life-threatening illness, a failed refugee claimant, makes the extremely difficult choice of sanctuary.

The compassionless attitude of our Canadian immigration authorities is becoming the increasingly default position. I commend the protesters who continue to articulate their rage against this.

Miriam Garfinkle