We recently blogged about a petition that was started to bring a family back to Canada after they were deported from Canada.
The Benhmuda family was deported to Libya after their refugee claim was denied in 2008. Two of the family’s younger sons were born in Canada, and the petition was started by one of the boys’ kindergarten teachers. 
They claimed refugee status in Canada because the family’s father’s brother was involved with anti-Gaddafi rebels, and the father was interrogated, beaten and jailed over his brother’s whereabouts.
Now, according to the CBC, immigration authorities have been given a Federal Court order to review the family’s case. It was ruled that the Canadian officials at the embassy in Rome, where the application was processed, were biased and had even placed false information in the family’s file. The case is to be sent to another visa office for review within the next 90 days.
In the initial assessment of the case, visa officers said that the family was a drain on Canada’s social and health services and would be dependent on Canada’s social assistance. However, the Federal Court ruled that this was false and the father had a job and supported his family while in Canada. The initial review also didn’t consider humanitarian aspects of the case, such as the children’s ties to Canada.
The family is currently living in a refugee camp in Malta.
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.
