Toronto student to be deported to Mexico

The Canadian Press:

An 18-year-old refugee claimant is set to be deported Saturday to Mexico, where supporters fear he faces homophobic violence, after an 11th-hour attempt to keep him in Canada failed Friday.

Daniel Garcia, a Grade 11 student in Toronto, came to Canada three years ago with his older sister, who is gay. Her partner was murdered one night in Mexico while Garcia was in the room, the young man's supporters say.

He has been attacked in Mexico because of his sister's sexuality and is afraid of what might await him in his home country, said Garcia's English language teacher who visited him Thursday in the detention centre.

Cheri DiNovo, the New Democrat representing the area of Garcia's school, said deporting Garcia goes against Canadian values.

"We ask Jason Kenney, we ask every immigration official to search their own hearts and their souls and to really say, 'Is this the Canada we want to live in — a Canada that sends a (teenager) to a probable death because of homophobia?'" she said at the rally.

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