Federal authorities halt Edmonton mother's deportation hours before removal

Halima Abdi was released from custody on Sept. 10 at Edmonton International Airport after Canadian Border Services Agency stayed her removal order — a decision that came hours before she was scheduled to be deported to Kenya, separating her from her three sons.

Abdi was detained by CBSA at a downtown Edmonton office on Sept. 4 and faced removal six days later under an immigration decision that had rejected her claim that she was targeted in Kenya because of her Somali ethnicity. She had faced an impossible choice: surrender her children to Alberta government care or bring them with her to Kenya.

The reversal came after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said on Sept. 9 that her August 2024 application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds had passed eligibility requirements. CBSA received that confirmation on Sept. 10 and stayed her removal order pending the outcome of her permanent residence application, which still requires medical and security checks.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition asking immigration authorities to reconsider. Supporters gathered in protest outside the downtown Edmonton CBSA building on Sept. 4, the same day her lawyer and advocates wrote to the federal public safety minister. Officials flew Abdi to a detention centre in B.C. before returning her to Edmonton.

"I don't know how to express my gratitude to everybody. I will just pray for them," Abdi said on Tuesday. She is considering future careers in policing, military or medicine. Her seven-year-old eldest son asked her during her detention: "Why did you leave us, Mommy?"