Canada says no to Black man seeking asylum because of racism

(EURweb.com) – Kyle Canty, a U.S. citizen, dressed up in his finest clothes, and walked into the Canadian courthouse; ready and willing to plead his case that if he stayed in his native country, it would be paramount to him signing his own death certificate.

But in December, when the decision was handed down, Canada was like: ‘We feel you, brother. But no, you can’t stay here.’

Canty represented himself in his October 23 immigration hearing.
Yet Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board was very quick to let us know why they denied Mr. Canty; who has now returned to the U.S., cap in hand, so to speak.

According to Ron Yamauchi, the IRB board member who wrote the decision, Black people in the U.S. are “stopped and questioned by police at the highest rate compared to other racial groups,” the CBC reported. But his concluding decision argued that Canty did not personally have a “well-founded” fear of persecution in his home country.

“His removal to the United States of America would not subject him personally to a risk to his life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment,” the decision read.

This article originally published in the January 18, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.