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Guyana-born man still in immigration limbo
US/Canada – A Hamilton man stuck in immigration limbo spent the holidays at the Buffalo men’s shelter where he has been living since being released from custody in June.
Kenesh Austin speaks on the phone with her husband, Richard.
Richard Austin spent a month in a U.S. jail after reporting to the border on May 14. The poet, husband and father had lived in the Hamilton area for the previous three years but was ordered out of Canada because he did not file paperwork on time with immigration.
He was born in Guyana but was raised by his grandparents, who moved to the United States when he was 12. He lived there as a permanent resident until coming to Canada in 2009.
But when Austin reported to the U.S. border, he was detained; his permanent residency was not valid because he had been out of the country for more than a year.
Austin said he’s managed to get a part-time job with a security company and has made a few friends in the area.
“I have ups and downs, good days and bad,” he said.
“We miss him,” said his wife, Kenesh Austin. The couple has an 18-month-old daughter, Nyoke. They talk on the phone every day, but it’s not the same as being together, she said.
She has moved to Toronto to be close to members of Austin’s family and says she is focused on caring for the couple’s daughter.
Austin is scheduled for what is called a master calendar hearing in U.S. immigration court on Jan. 29, explained Michael Marszalkowski, Austin’s U.S. immigration lawyer.
It is basically a first appearance, where the lawyer will tell the court Austin feels he still has claim to his U.S. permanent residency and would like a hearing.
But given the court backlog, Marszalkowski says, it could be as long as a year and a half before the hearing happens.
In the meantime, Austin will reapply to return to Canada once he’s been out of the country for a year.
The main goal is to reunite him with his family, Marszalkowski said. (thespec.com)
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