Convicted Honduran MS-13 gang member permitted to stay in Canada by judge

The man, who was only identified as "FGH" in a court decision, “acted as an informant against the MS-13 gang in exchange for deferral of his removal from the United States," per the National Post. The decision added that he “served as an informant for approximately three months until members of MS-13 allegedly became aware of his cooperation with law enforcement. When he declined to continue acting as an informant, he was arrested and deported to Honduras" in 2017.

After his deportation from the US to Honduras in January 2017, FGH claimed "he received threats by telephone from callers in the United States and Honduras who told him that they knew who he was, and that he had been ‘spying on them by helping the authorities,'” the court decision said. “In March 2017, the applicant was pursued by armed men in a car, resulting in a serious accident. He lived in hiding for approximately four months before he fled to the United States.”

“He lived in different places until he fled to Israel, and then to Spain. There was no pathway to legal work or stability, and the applicant returned to Honduras in late 2019. He travelled through the United States to Canada in the summer of 2020," the decision added.

FGH “entered Canada irregularly between ports of entry in November 2020,” the court decision said. “He submitted a claim for refugee protection in April 2021. His claim was referred to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, but was suspended following a finding of serious criminality.”

However, an immigration officer "found there was no objective evidence that MS-13 was aware that he had acted as an informant or had any ongoing interest in him. The officer noted that the applicant had lived in Honduras after his removal from the United States, and there was no evidence that he had experienced any harm or threats. The officer observed that the applicant’s evidence addressed generalized rather than personalized risks, and he had failed to rebut the presumption of adequate state protection in Honduras.”

FGH claimed in court that if he were deported back to Honduras, he would experience "irreparable harm."

Judge Simon Fothergill wrote in the decision, “I am satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated, with clear and convincing non-speculative evidence, that he will suffer irreparable harm if he returns to Honduras."

With that, the judge also said that because FGH "has abided by Canadian law since his arrival in this country, and he has recently applied for criminal rehabilitation. He has married a Canadian citizen, and he hopes to eventually be sponsored for permanent residence.”

FGH had argued that because the identity theft and forgery were "non-violent offences," he should be able to stay in Canada.

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