As widely reported Actor Randy Quaid (“Cousin Eddie” in the Chevy Chase Vacation movies) has applied for refugee status in Canada along with his wife, Evi.
While the Quaids were on the run, reality show star Dog the Bounty Hunter made a public plea for the Quaids to turn themselves in, otherwise, “the Chapman family is coming after you.”
The couple was on the run from the law in California after leaving a hotel in 2009 without paying their $10,000 bill. The couple had missed several court dates pertaining to the case, but eventually the charges were dropped against Quaid while his wife had to perform community service. In September of 2010, the Quaids were charged with burglary after causing damage to a home they had formerly owned. They failed to appear again in mid-October, and were arrested in Vancouver on October 22nd.
After their arrest, the Quaids applied for refugee status and are currently awaiting a review by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board.
The pair have claimed there is a conspiracy with regards to the recent deaths of several movie stars, saying that they were murdered. The actors in question – Heath Ledger, Chris Penn and David Carradine – all died either accidentally or as the result of accidental overdoses. The Quaids have said that they themselves are next and are in danger as their reason for claiming refugee status in Canada.
The couple has also promised that if they are give status as refugees they will take steps to deal with their problems that remain in the United States.
Well, I thought I have seen it all. The Quaids’s stunt will likely land them in the hands of the US authorities soon. The Canadian refugee system is fairly open to those seeking protection from all countries including democratic one’s like the US. However, the Quaids it appears, are convicted felons and our system makes it very difficult for those convicted of “serious criminality” to be processed as refugees not to mention they they are from the US.
So even if they could substantiate their conspiracy theories, the fact that they have records, could end their drama before it begins.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
