Latest news with #refugee
National Post
3 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
Family fighting deportation to Italy gets another shot at staying in Canada
A dual citizen of Italy and Ethiopia who brought her two Italian children to Canada more than a decade back, using aliases and falsely claiming they were Eritrean citizens subject to religious persecution, has won another chance for her family to stay here. Article content The Refugee Protection Division, which weighs refugee claims in Canada, initially accepted the 2014 claims of Tsegereda Tsegaye Wigebral and her two kids, Nobel and Melody Esayas Fisihatsion, now 19 and 17 respectively. But it nullified their refugee status and rejected their claim in December 2022 after learning their story was fake. Article content Article content Article content That same month, the family was declared inadmissible to Canada. They were ordered deported in August 2023, but applied for a pre-removal risk assessment, their last-ditch bid to stay here. Article content Article content Last April, a senior immigration officer 'reviewed the applicants' file and held that they were not at risk of persecution, or subject to a danger of torture, and nor did they face a risk to their lives or a cruel or unusual punishment if they were removed to Italy,' according to a recent Federal Court decision out of Ottawa. Article content 'While the applicants had alleged that they faced serious discrimination, social exclusion and abuse there, due to their race, and had alleged that they could not rely on the police or authorities for protection, the officer determined that there was not sufficient evidence before them to substantiate those claims,' wrote Justice Darren Thorne. Article content The officer 'accepted that the applicants may have been subjected to 'less favourable treatment' due to their race, but found they had failed to establish that this rose to the level of persecution,' said Thorne's decision, dated June 25. 'In one of the central findings, the officer noted, in relation to mistreatment in Italy, that the principal applicant had provided 'little to no further elaboration or evidence as to how she came to the conclusion that the Italian authorities would not help her.'' Article content Article content The trouble is, immigration officials had asked the older child, who had turned 18, to file his own application, but the immigration officer handling their case didn't look at what Nobel submitted before making a decision. Thorne said the immigration officer's decision was 'clearly' made without viewing the totality of the family's applications. Article content Article content 'The right to be heard is among the most basic aspects of procedural fairness. When a decision has clearly been made without considering all of the materials submitted by an applicant, this right has been compromised,' said Thorne, who sent the family's case back to a different immigration officer to re-evaluate. Article content A lawyer representing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, who was fighting for the family's removal, couldn't explain why that happened, although they noted the officer may not have seen Nobel's application. Article content The same lawyer argued Nobel's submissions 'were immaterial, as they contained broadly the same information as had been provided by the principal applicant,' and that the information he provided 'also did not establish that the treatment suffered by the applicants rose to the level of persecution, so it would not have changed the officer's decision, even if it had been considered.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
War refugee turned businessman to make 'long-awaited' return to Darlington
A man who fled war and moved to Darlington and set up his own business is now set to make his long-awaited return to the town this weekend. After a year away, popular food vendor Falafel Fella is back and will reopen to the public at the Darlington Community Carnival this Saturday, June 28. Mouhyedin Alkalil, the man behind the stall, fled his hometown of Homs in Syria at 18 to escape the civil war. Mouhyedin Alkhalil, owner of Falafel Fella, who fled Syria in 2012 (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) In June 2024 he closed his shop but continued to attend events with a pop-up stall across Darlington and County Durham. In December, he returned to Syria to visit his family that he had not seen since he was a teen. Now, Mouhyedin is back in Darlington, where he first rebuilt his life and started the business that became a local favourite. Mouhyedin Alkhalil who fled Syria in 2012 (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) After arriving in the UK in 2011, he settled in Darlington, working as an Uber driver and taking on odd jobs. A local family offered him accommodation to help him save money, which he later used to launch his first business. He eventually secured a lease for a shop, which he named Falafel Fella. In a Facebook post announcing the return, Mouhyedin said: 'Our dearest friends, the wait has been long. "After a whole year away, we've missed you, people of Darlington! "Get ready for this Saturday because Falafel Fella will be at the Darlington Community Carnival. "Come renew your memories, and taste the best falafel, chicken and halloumi wraps in town, back with the same beloved taste, and even better. "Come and enjoy all the fun and falafel flavours! See you this Saturday at Darlington Community Carnival' Falafel Fella will be set up in Stanhope Park as part of the food and drink stalls at the event. Mouhyedin Alkhalil in his old store Falafel Fella back in 2020 (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) The announcement sparked a wave of excitement online, with customers welcoming the news. 'Can't wait. The queue will go right round the park!' one said. 'Love love love this, Mouhyedin, I'll be there, I miss you and your delicious food every week!' wrote another. One more commented: 'We have a stall in the park this weekend. We will be visiting you to buy our lunch, delighted you are back.' Another simply said: 'Best news ever!' READ MORE: All 20 road closures across Darlington for return of Community Carnival Everything you need to know ahead of Darlington carnival this weekend Darlington falafel business owner to return to Syria after 14 years Mouhyedin also confirmed that Falafel Fella will appear at the Durham Miners Gala on Saturday, July 12. Now back in the town where he first built his business, he is ready to serve up his popular wraps once again.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
UK starting to turn away Ukrainians
The UK has begun turning down asylum claims from Ukrainians, asserting that applicants can safely relocate to other parts of Ukraine, the Guardian has reported. A London-based legal firm told the newspaper on Friday that it receives weekly inquiries from Ukrainians whose refusal letters commonly state that they do not meet the threshold for persecution under the Refugee Convention, as applicants are deemed able to relocate to safer parts of Ukraine. The letters also cite the availability of public services in Ukraine and suggest that seeking help from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and local organizations. The firm noted that the growing number of refusals was linked to updates made in January to the UK Home Office's guidance, which now identifies regions such as Kiev and western Ukraine as 'generally safe.' Refugee status in the UK grants recipients five years of residency with access to work, benefits, healthcare, housing support, and family reunification. The UK also offers temporary visas through the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family schemes, allowing stays of up to 18 months. As of March 2025, over 270,000 visas had been issued. A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian that the UK has offered or extended sanctuary to over 300,000 Ukrainians since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. The ministry emphasized that asylum claims are assessed individually and noted that the Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open. Several million Ukrainians have fled their country over the past three years. According to Eurostat data, around 4.3 million had been granted temporary protection in the EU as of March 2025. Russia, meanwhile, reported that 5.5 million people had arrived from Ukraine by the end of 2023. The outflow has been driven not only by the ongoing conflict but also by increasingly aggressive mobilization tactics used by the Ukrainian military. These efforts have led to violent confrontations between draft officers and those resisting conscription, with male Ukrainians risking criminal prosecution for fleeing the country. London has committed billions in military assistance to Ukraine since 2022. Moscow has repeatedly accused the UK and its Western allies of using Ukraine as a 'battering ram' against Russia and of pursuing the conflict 'until the last Ukrainian.'
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Migrant can stay after judge confused his Somali clan with Hawaii
An African asylum seeker has won a reprieve to remain in the UK after an immigration judge confused his Somali clan with the island of Hawaii. The mix-up between the US state and the Hawiye people was one of a catalogue of 'errors' in a judgment denying the man's claim to stay in in the UK. The decision also wrongly stated that the asylum seeker's children were born in Egypt instead of Ethiopia, and made a 'bizarre reference to a kookaburra farm', a new ruling has revealed. The kookaburra is a bird native to Australia and New Guinea. The man, who was given anonymity by the asylum tribunal, will now have his case reheard after it was concluded that Sureta Chana, the judge responsible for the mistakes, showed an 'absence of care'. The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example uncovered by The Telegraph in which illegal migrants or convicted foreign criminals have been able to remain in the UK or halt their removal. 'Significant number of errors' The African asylum seeker's claim was initially rejected by a First-Tier Tribunal. He had claimed to be originally from Somalia, where he said he was at risk of persecution by the Hawiye clan, one of the largest tribes in the country. He told the Home Office that he had lived unlawfully in Ethiopia for a number of years before he left because of mistreatment by the Oromo tribe, which makes up more than a third of the population. British officials believed he was from Ethiopia, not Somalia and the First-Tier Tribunal rejected his claim on the basis that he would be entitled to Ethiopian citizenship. He appealed and an Upper-Tier Tribunal found there had a 'a significant number of typographical and factual errors' in the judgment, which demonstrated a 'failure to exercise anxious scrutiny'. First there was the reference to the 'Hawaii' rather than Hawiye clan. It also wrongly stated that the [asylum seeker]'s children were born in Egypt instead of Ethiopia. There was the 'bizarre reference to a 'kookaburra farm'', while the Lower Tribunal had miscalculated 'the length of the [asylum seeker]'s residence in Ethiopia'. It stated that the appeal had been heard on Jan 1 this year, a date on which the First-Tier Tribunal does not sit. It dated the decision as 28 March 2017, several years before the asylum claim was made. 'Absence of care' It also found that the judge had made findings about Ethiopian nationality law when the evidence showed he had no right to naturalise as an Ethiopian citizen. The judge also misquoted a previous case and was 'wrongly conflating the [asylum seeker]'s fear of the Oromo tribe in Ethiopia with his fear of the Hawiye clan in Somalia'. Upper Tribunal Judge Leonie Hirst said: 'The First-Tier Tribunal's decision displays throughout an absence of care, evidenced by the numerous typographical and factual errors identified in the [asylum seeker]'s grounds of appeal. That however is not the only material error in the decision. 'On the issue of the [asylum seeker]'s nationality, which was central to the appeal, the judge appears to have taken judicial notice of Ethiopian nationality law without evidence or submissions on that point. 'Her conclusion that the [asylum seeker] was entitled to Ethiopian citizenship was unsupported by the evidence before her and her reasoning was insufficient to explain how she reached her conclusions.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukrainians who fled to UK being refused asylum on grounds it is ‘safe to return'
Ukrainians who fled to the UK after the Russian invasion are being refused asylum by the Home Office on the grounds it is safe to return to Ukraine. Families are trying to obtain a route to settlement, which would enable them to build a life in the UK, commit their children to a British education and improve their prospects for jobs and housing. Some feel they have nothing to return to as they are from areas razed by conflict. One told the Guardian they had been refused asylum on grounds they could relocate elsewhere in Ukraine, despite their home town being a war zone. The firm Sterling Law said it was contacted weekly by Ukrainians, including vulnerable women and children, whose applications had been refused. The firm is working on several appeals, which bring waits of several months during which Ukrainians are left in limbo. Although Ukrainians are able to remain for 18 months through the temporary visa scheme, the uncertainty about their living arrangements is compounding anxiety and distress. Halyna Semchak, a solicitor at Sterling Law, said she was working with a single mother from Nikopol, a town which has been largely destroyed, a visually impaired man and the parent of a child born in the UK. Their refusal letters typically state that the conflict-related risks do not meet the threshold for persecution under the refugee convention, as they can relocate to safer parts of Ukraine where there are public services, and they can apply for help from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) and local organisations to avoid destitution. She said this was a 'concerning and growing trend' caused by updates made in January to the UK Home Office's guidance, which now deems regions such as Kyiv and western Ukraine to be 'generally safe'. She has observed that fewer of the asylum claims she works on have been successful since the update. 'This assessment runs counter to the reality of life on the ground in Ukraine. I think any rational person would understand that Ukraine remains in the midst of a violent war, with attacks intensifying in recent months. Our clients would clearly face grave risks including bombardment, conscription, family separation and the psychological trauma of war if they were to return to Ukraine today,' she said. 'Legally, these decisions are deeply troubling. They overlook the complex realities on the ground and fail to engage meaningfully with individual circumstances, particularly in light of article 3 and 8 of the European convention on human rights [which protect the rights to protection from harm and to liberty].' She urged the government to reassess the guidance. 'Until that happens, people fleeing war and instability will continue to be let down by a system that purports to protect them,' she said. Oleksandr Zbytskyi was refused asylum despite being from Odesa in southern Ukraine, a war zone subject to infrastructure blackouts. While the Home Office was considering his application, five people died in a missile attack. Zbytskyi and his family have been in the UK since August 2022. He wants his son, who was four-years-old when he arrived in the UK and speaks better English than Ukrainian, to continue at school and for his wife to keep receiving treatment for anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Every member of his close family has died, some fighting on the frontline, others because they could not access medical treatment. If he returns, he may be drafted into the military. 'It was really unexpected to achieve rejection … Who is willing to take their child and bring them back to the country where there is a full-scale war?' Zbytskyi said. 'We are depressed about this because it's affected all our family. I can't do anything at the moment because of everything in my head. I can't even sleep. This is a really terrible situation. '[My son] has already started his mental relocation to UK society. I don't want to create another stress for him and for my wife. I know that it's very, very important to live a normal life.' Kama Petruczenko, a senior policy analyst at the Refugee Council, said he was concerned that the Ukraine guidance 'is not currently flexible enough to best reflect the difficulties in quickly assessing regional safety in every single application'. The latest Home Office figures suggest that 47 asylum applications have resulted in refugee status and 724 in humanitarian protection since 2023. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'Since Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion, we have offered or extended sanctuary to over 300,000 Ukrainians and the Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open. 'All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. No one who is found to be at risk of serious harm will be expected to return to Ukraine.'
