“Deportation like death sentence”, claims family set to be split

An Edmonton couple originally from Guatemala are set be deported and separated from four of their five children. The couple and their eldest son are being sent to Guatemala July 12. But the four youngest children were born in the U.S., so the parents made the wrenching decision to send them to a relative in Alabama. The kids are set to lave for Alabama on July 10.

The parents in a press conference assisted by interpreter said that they had been working illegally in the U.S. before they fled to Canada in 2011. They say they paid an Edmonton acquaintance thousands of dollars to help with their refugee claim, but the paperwork was never filed.  The couple claimed that other family members have been murdered in Guatemala and they fear they could face the same fate.

“I was beaten by the gang members and I was shot at,” the male –  Jilmar Picon Pineda said. “When I was in the States, when I ran away, I received a call and they told me that they were waiting for me upon my return.” Pineda said he brought his family to Canada for safety and security and a return to Guatemala would be a death sentence.