Deportations halted for two Edmonton families at 11th hour
CBC
Two Edmonton families facing imminent deportation — one to Mexico, the other to the Philippines — have been granted reprieves.
The families, both with young children, went public in recent weeks with concerns about safety should they have to return to their countries of origin.
Luis Ubando Nolasco, Cinthya Carrasco Campos and their eight and nine-year-old daughters were supposed to be on a flight to Mexico on Monday.
The family fled to Canada in 2018 and sought refugee protection after a family member's homicide. The government rejected their applications to stay and they were ordered to leave the country.
But the couple says that on Saturday, they met with Edmonton Centre MP and federal Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, who told them their deportation had been paused and they don't have to leave.
"I dropped to the floor. I cried a lot," Ubando Nolasco said Monday.
Carrasco Campos added that they're thankful to everyone who stepped in to offer support.
"I appreciate their help for me and my family. It's ... good news. Yes. I feel good," she said.
The couple's lawyer, Rachael Anderson, said in an email Tuesday that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada advised her over the weekend that IRCC Minister Sean Fraser authorized temporary resident permits, along with work and study permits for the family.
Anderson said the duration of the permit is unknown for now, but that it will give them a chance to make their case using new evidence of the threats they face in Mexico.
CBC News has asked CBSA for comment on the case.
The planned July 8 deportation of Evangeline Cayanan, whose six-year-old Canadian daughter, McKenna, would be forced to go with her back to the Philippines, is also on hold, Cayanan's lawyer Manraj Sidhu confirmed.
Sidhu said Tuesday that while he is still waiting on official documentation from IRCC, his understanding is that Cayanan is getting a one-year temporary residence permit, which will allow her to file more evidence as she makes a case to be able to stay.
Cayanan came to Canada in 2010 as a temporary foreign worker. She alleges she became undocumented after she reported two employers for alleged abuse.
This story was first published on Oct. 20, 2025.
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