The Lindo family – including George and his wife Jillandre, and their four children, including Tamarri, a rising track and field star and Olympic hopeful, and four-year-old Tameliah, who is a Canadian citizen – have been issued 1 year Temporary Resident Permits as well as work and study permits after a cross-country outcry and sustained media attention.
Their deportation scheduled for July 10, 2024 was stopped because nearly 2,000 people wrote letters to Prime Minister Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller (scroll below for the petition), and hundreds of others made phone calls, calling on the federal government to take action.
Prime Minister Trudeau promised regularization – permanent resident status for undocumented people – in December 2021. Had the promise been kept, this family would not have gone through this crisis.
“After much tribulation and stress, finally receiving a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) from IRCC, allowing my family and me to stay in Canada for a year, feels like a breath of fresh air. While the journey towards permanent residency continues, this TRP is significant and brings renewed hope for the future. I’m grateful to all parties involved for their continued and unwavering support. At the same time, this should not have happened, and should not happen to anyone. I urge the government to keep their promise and regularize all undocumented people.”
– George Lindo.
“Thank you everyone who has supported us. I am grateful the Lindo family is finally securing status—status that should have been granted when the family first arrived in Canada. I also know that there are many others like them who are deported and killed. To stop this from happening again, the government must grant permanent resident status to undocumented people arriving in Canada to make a better life.”
– Aidan Simardone, the family’ immigration lawyer.
Tamarri is an exceptional athlete with deep ties to his community. He deserves to stay. At the same time, every day at least 40 people are torn away from their families and communities and deported to places of danger and death despite Prime Minister Trudeau promising to ensure equal rights for undocumented people. Every one of them are beloved champions of their communities, each of them deserves life and status.
The Lindo family fled to Canada in 2019 to escape targeted violence in Jamaica. George, a political opposition member, survived three assassination attempts. Despite their desperate situation, their refugee claim was denied due to lack of legal representation. Despite their deep ties to Canada, their humanitarian and compassionate application – the last resort for undocumented people – was also denied. The TRP provides them one year within which to try to gain status again through the humanitarian and compassionate application process – unless a regularization program is implemented by then.
More on the family’s story:
Yes Everything – On Canada Day, a family fights a deportation order
CBC News – Toronto track star with Olympic dreams faces deortation.
SportsMax – Olympic hopeful Tamarri Lindo faces deportation to Jamaica amidst Olympic dreams.