Lawyer says deportation won't end Tran's fight
By Richard Cuthbertson
Calgary Herald
August 28, 2009
CALGARY – Even if alleged gangster Jackie Tran is deported from Canada in the coming days, he will continue to fight his original removal order and, if successful, might be able to return to this country.
This according to the 26-yearold's lawyer, who is preparing on Friday to argue for an emergency stay of Tran's removal order in a bid to prevent the deportation of his client.
Lawyer Raj Sharma said the emergency stay, which will be heard by the Federal Court, is an “extraordinary remedy.”
Even if that fails and Tran is deported, Sharma said he will forge ahead with a judicial review of an immigration appeal ruling that found Tran should be deported.
“If he does leave, the application for leave and judicial review will continue,” Sharma said. “It is a possibility that, should we succeed and this matter's referred back to the Immigration Appeal Division, that Mr. Tran could be returned to Canada.
“It has happened before. I won't speculate as to the situation here. But if we're successful in setting aside the removal order, whether or not Mr. Tran is here or not, the matter's referred back to the Immigration Appeal Division, who can render a decision in his favour. It's not yet over.”
Tran, who is also named Nghia Trong Nguyen-Tran, remains in custody at the Calgary Remand Centre. He was arrested on Tuesday and accused of not showing up to a scheduled meeting with Canada Border Services officials, in violation of his release conditions. The exact date of his deportation is now banned from publication.
On Thursday, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled Tran should stay in custody, noting his deportation date is imminent and he's breached court orders in the past.
“I'm satisfied you're unlikely to voluntarily report for removal,” member Michael McPhalen said.
Tran was first ordered deported from Canada in 2004, but his case has been the subject of appeal. During immigration hearings in the last year, police have accused Tran of being a member of the FOB Killers gang. Tran denies he is a member of the gang, although he says he has social connections with some members.
Canada Border Services hearing officer Pete Stathakos reiterated Thursday the finding of the immigration appeal division, and said Tran “was and quite possibly is still a member of an organized crime group.” He also said that Tran was “clearly thwarting removal.”
But Sharma said Tran only got the message of the meeting with border services from his girlfriend. He said Tran did not know what it was about — believing he would be retrieving a work permit he'd applied for–and didn't realize the urgency of showing up to the office at 8 a. m.
Sharma said his client is not a flight risk and is resigned to the fact that if Friday's emergency stay application fails, he will be sent to Vietnam.
rcuthbertson@theherald. canwest.com
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TIMELINE OF JACKIE TRAN IN CANADA (SOURCE : CBC)
1983 : Jackie Tran's father flees Vietnam as a refugee and makes his way to Canada. He sponsors his wife and only child to join him in Canada.
1993 : January 28–Becomes a permanent resident of Canada. Attends Patrick Airlie School, Ernest Morrow School and Crescent Heights High School
2000 : Drops Out Of Grade 11
2002 : February–Conviction for failure to attend court. March–Two convictions for trafficking in cocaine.
2003 : March–Conviction for assault with a weapon and failure to attend court.
2004 : April 20—Removal order issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to deport Tran from Canada
2005 : July—Conviction for failure to comply with the terms of a recognizance
2006 : October—Two convictions for failure to comply with the terms of a recognizance
2008 : January 10—Appeal of removal order dismissed by the IRB, Tran is not present for the hearing. That night, he is arrested on an immigration warrant at a viewing at a funeral home for a gang member gunned down in an alley.
January 15—Deemed a flight risk, Tran is ordered to remain in custody for the duration of the deportation process. He applies to the federal court of Canada for a judicial review.
September 4—The Federal Court of Canada orders Tran's deportation appeal returned to the IRB for a new hearing
October 2—An IRB detention review orders Tran to follow several release conditions including a curfew, not possessing any illegal weapons, and abstaining from illegal drugs.
October 17—Ordered released from custody on two $10,000 bonds.
October 25—A police officer stops a car with three people leaving the scene of a fight that spills out of a Kensington Bar. He later believes one of the men to be Tran who is under a curfew to remain in his home after 8 PM.
October 28—Tran is arrested for allegedly breaking the curfew.
November 14—The IRB orders Tran to be freed from custody, ruling that a police officer mis-identified him on the night of his alleged breach of his curfew.
November 20—“I am not a gang member. I never threatened anyone,” Tran tells an IRB hearing.
2009 : March 25—Tran is taken into custody on an immigration warrant for breaching the release condition that requires him to live in the same residence as his mother.
March 27–The IRB rles that Tran did not breach his release condition ; an immigration official again ruled that he did not break his release condition.
April 7—The IRB denies Tran's appeal of his removal order.
August 25—Arrested for failing to appear for a scheduled appointment at the Canada Services Agency office, which is a direct breach of Tran's release conditions.
