Iranian-born Winnipegger says family at risk of being deported to besieged homeland

An Iranian-born Winnipeggers says immigration delays may have placed family members at risk of being deported to Iran. Jeff Keele has more.

An Iranian-born Winnipegger says family members are at risk of being deported to Iran, in the middle of the war.

A frantic phone call last week, is placing a sense of urgency on Leyla Shahsavar’s attempt to bring family members to Canada.

“I was so panicked because there is a war happening in Iran,” she told CTV News.

“It was the day my home city was bombed.”

Shahsavar immigrated to Winnipeg more than a decade ago from Iran. Their uncle, his wife and two daughters fled Iran in 2015 over fears of religious persecution, landing in Türkiye as refugees.

Shahsavar says a permanent residents application for the family to come here has been sitting in the Canadian embassy in Türkiye for two years.

“Since then, we’ve been waiting,” she said.

It appears that wait may be detrimental.

Shahsavar says her uncle was attempting to renew an annual residency permit in Türkiye last week, when he was detained and put in refugee camp. His wife and daughters called to say they are in hiding and that all of them are now at risk of being deported back to Iran.

“They are terrified, with any noise they are freaking out that the police is coming to take them back,” Shahsavar said.

Over the past two years, Canada has reduced the number of new permanent and temporary residents to curb pressures on housing costs and services like health care.

Shahsavar believes those caps have stalled the application process.

“It’s just a very difficult life situation right now for them. Their survival is just really difficult,” she said.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CTV News the department can’t comment on specific cases due to privacy reasons. However, it noted processing applications can vary for a number of reasons, including the complexity of the cases, whether the applications are complete, or the number of applications being processed.

“IRCC aims to process 80 per cent of complete applications within established service standards. At the same time, some applications require additional review to ensure that decisions are made carefully and fairly,” the spokesperson said.

The department also says they’ve received more applications than spaces available in recent years, leading to a large inventory and wait-times.

“We understand that waiting for a decision can be deeply stressful and uncertain, particularly when it affects people’s ability to reunite with loved ones, plan their futures, or move forward with important life decisions,” the spokesperson said.

Shahsavar is speaking out, with the hope, they can be reunited with their relatives in Winnipeg, where it’s safe.

“I feel guilty most of the time for my family like being in danger.”