Two fathers in Quebec are calling on the federal government to halt deportation orders, saying they face life-threatening risks if they are forced to return to their home countries in Africa.
Jonas Kiese Umba, a Congolese national, and Christiaano Nguya, originally from Angola, have both lived in Quebec for years and are now fighting to stay in Canada after their refugee claims were rejected.
Kiese Umba has been in Quebec for six years and is the father of a three-month-old daughter. He fears returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where renewed conflict has killed thousands and displaced tens of thousands since the M23 rebel group captured the city of Goma in early 2025.
“Congo is in war right now,” Kiese Umba told Global News in an interview Tuesday. “They made a mistake,” he said, referring to the Canadian government’s decision to deny his refugee claim.
Nguya has been in Canada for a decade and is the father of four children, two of whom were born in Canada. His youngest suffers from sickle cell anemia and receives treatment every two weeks at Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital. Nguya says he is the child’s primary caregiver and worries about what would happen if he were forced to leave.
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“If I go back to my country, I will die,” he said. “If I’m not in Canada, who will help him?”
Both men and their families are being represented by Montreal lawyer Stewart Istvanffy, who believes serious mistakes were made in the handling of their refugee claims.
“We should not have a system of automatic deportation,” Istvanffy said. “There should be due process for these people.”
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In Nguya’s case, a deportation order was halted once before — at the airport — after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office intervened three years ago, Istvanffy said.
Advocates from Montreal’s Congolese community are calling on Ottawa to again show compassion in both cases.
“We’re not asking to change the rules,” said Caribe Masita of the Congolese Community of Montreal. “We’re just asking that the rules be made with consideration of humanity.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada declined to comment, citing privacy concerns.
As of Wednesday, Nguya faces deportation by Friday. Both families say separating fathers from their young children would cause lasting harm, especially to the Canadian-born children.
They say they are hoping for last-minute intervention from federal officials to allow the men to stay in Canada, at least temporarily.
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