Pubdate: Thu, 08 Feb 2007
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Paul Turenne, Sun Media

PAROLED TRAFFICKER QUICKLY DEPORTED

A man growing pot in La Salle just over a year ago was kicked out of 
Canada for good Monday.

Thang Tu Nguyen was arrested Jan. 27, 2006, after Mounties raided his 
home at 6 Vouriot Rd. in La Salle, just south of Winnipeg, and seized 
about 750 pot plants and a small amount of crack.

Nguyen was convicted of drug possession and trafficking and last June 
was handed a two-year jail sentence.

The National Parole Board decided in December to grant him full 
parole when eligible, and he was released from prison last Wednesday.

But instead of enjoying his freedom, Nguyen was immediately handed 
over to officers from the Canada Border Services Agency, who during 
his prison term had been preparing to kick him out of the country.

Lisa White, a spokeswoman for the CBSA, said all non-Canadians who 
commit crimes in Canada are generally kicked out, barring appeals. 
The length of the ban depends on the seriousness of their crimes.

'Don't want criminals'

Due to privacy constraints White could not say where Nguyen was from 
or where he was deported to but she did confirm he is a foreign 
national or non-Canadian. His deportation is permanent.

"We just want people to know that we don't want criminals in Canada 
and that our role is to remove them," said White, who said the agency 
has decided to start making these deportations public.

"We remove people quite frequently. There are removals more or less 
every day (across Canada)."

"The first step is to rule them inadmissible because of criminality, 
to show they've violated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act," she said.

"But we can't proceed with removing anyone until they've completed 
their sentence or granted full parole. Day parole doesn't count."

Once the prisoner is handed over, the CBSA escorts them out of the 
country as soon as possible. In Nguyen's case his deportation came 
four days after his release from prison.

The CBSA has four options when deciding where to send someone: 
country of birth, country of citizenship, country of nationality or 
the last country they were in before coming to Canada.

CBSA officers generally escort people to their final destination, 
although that is decided on a case-by-case basis depending on flight risk.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman