We would like to share with you the excellent news that Laibar Singh has won another stay of deportation. One the morning of Friday October 19, the Vancouver branch of Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) stated they would not deport Mr. Singh on his scheduled date of October 22nd and would not deport him until his pending humanitarian and compassionate is heard.On Wednesday 17, Citizenship and Immigration National Headquarters Office had granted a 20-day extension for an independent medical assessment on Mr. Laibar Singh’s fitness to travel. They also stated that Mr. Laibar Singh’s pending Humanitarian and Compassionate legal claim will be decided on or after November 8 2007.

According to Swarn Singh Gill, President of the Abbortsford Sahib Kalgidhar Darbar Gurudwara, “We are really happy that Mr. Laibar Singh is no longer facing deportation; however it causes Mr. Laibar Singh great anxiety and mental trauma to go through this roller-coaster of deportation dates. Why is it so imperative to deport a man who has the support from millions of people?”

According to Harpal Singh Nagra of the South Asian Human Rights Group “Over thirty five thousand people have signed onto an Official Petition that has been raised in Parliament in support of Mr. Laibar Singh’s bid to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The Government of Canada needs to respond to this.”

While certainly not a full measure of justice, it is clear that the government has been forced to respond to the wide-spread support Laibar has received. This victory highlights the importance for us to continue struggling against unjust deportations and detentions that perpetuate pain, anxiety, and violence in the lives of our community members. It is also important to note that this is a temporary deferral, therefore we must not allow Immigration authorities to presume that our public support for Laibar has dwindled and pleaes stay tuned for futher requests for support.