Deportation—A Canadian Issue, too

A brief discussion of:

Gary Dimmock, Born in Ottawa, man faces deportation to India, The Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 15, 2010.

The man in question, Deepan Budlakoti, was born in 1989 in Ottawa, ON, Canada, to immigrant parents.  Budlakoti's parents came to Canada in 1985, but did not receive their Canadian citizenship until the late 90s.  In Canada, the Citizenship Act provides that a child born in Canada will not always be entitled to jus soli.  An exception to Canada's indoctrination of jus soli is that children born of non-citizen parents residing in Canada for work or diplomacy will not obtain Canadian citizenship despite being born there.  Unfortunately for Budlakoti, this is his precise situation.

The article is quite void of further details describing the reasons behind the deportation.  It seems implied that Budlakoti himself is unaware of the underlying issue that brought about the deportation, but one can only assume it is a conflict with Canada's Citizenship Act.

Budlakoti is described as an individual who grew up as a rebellious child, a runaway, and someone who became involved in a life of crime at a very young age.  He had been trying to come clean by founding a construction business, but landed himself in jail because of a transaction for the sale of firearms.  He has never been to India, the target deportation country, and does not speak the language.

Despite his inadequate ability to follow the law, his situation is compelling and one that I will try to remain up to date on; further details should be released after the August 31st hearing.  It is always interesting to explore comparative law issues, especially when immigration law in the U.S. has been such a hot topic.

Thankfully for individuals born within the borders of the United States, a situation similar to Budlakoti's would not arise.  If you're born here, you're a citizen!

Factual information in this article was obtained courtesy of The Ottawa Citizen.