A man who has spent his life in Canada but who faces deportation to Somalia will soon be released from detention, the man’s lawyer said on Monday.
Benjamin Perryman told Global News on Monday that the Immigration and Refugee Board has ordered his client, Abdoul Abdi, be released from detention.
Although a date has yet to be set, Abdi, 24, will soon be released to a halfway house in the greater-Toronto area.
Perryman says that the Immigration and Refugee Board agreed to the release after recognizing the complexity of Abdi’s case and the decision by the Minister of Public Safety to impose new terms on Abdi.
READ MORE: N.S. premier seeks review as Abdoul Abdi faces deportation
The 24-year-old was recently released from prison after serving a five-year sentence on multiple charges including aggravated assault.
He arrived in Canada as a six-year-old child refugee and was shortly after apprehended by the Nova Scotia government and placed in foster care but never obtained citizenship.
Stephen McNeil, Nova Scotia’s premier said last week that he has ordered the province’s Community Services Department to complete a review of any cases that would require supports similar to those needed by Abdi.
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His case has become a rallying point for advocates of immigration reform, with calls to halt his deportation hearing and a protest held outside a Halifax-area town hall by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this month.
Perryman says despite his client’s impending release, the Government of Canada still continues to pursue his deportation.
“We’ll continue to contest the deportation,” said Perryman.
— with files from the Canadian Press
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