Josué Martín Elvir Zamora will be allowed to stay in Canada for another four weeks while the government assesses his case.
A gay Honduran asylum seeker, Elvir Zamora has lived in Canada since December 2013. His refugee claim was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board because it didn’t believe that he’s gay.
In an email sent to Xtra, David Garcia, the president of Latinx LGBT group Hola, said that Elvir Zamora’s case has been handed off to Rob Oliphant, the MP for Don Valley West in Toronto, and the chair of the federal government’s standing committee on citizenship and immigration.
“We are doing our best to help Josué to stay in Canada,” Garcia wrote.
Elvir Zamora told Xtra that he’s afraid to return to Honduras because he’s been threatened by gangs for being gay.
His lawyers have asked the government to delay his deportation until Jan 25, 2018, when he would be eligible to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment. He has also applied to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, but no decision has been made on that.
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