New charges grants illegal immigrant a reprieve
By Chris Doucette
Walford Uriah Steer, 39, charged in prositution investigation, gets a stay in deportation because of new criminal charges that may have to be dealt with first. (Supplied photo)
TORONTO - Walford Uriah Steer is a career criminal who snuck back into Canada after being booted out 12 years ago because of his lengthy rap sheet.
But ironically the recently captured fugitive’s latest brush with the law may be just the ticket he needs to steer clear of a second one-way trip back to his native Jamaica.
It’s the latest bizarre twist in a confusing immigration story with almost as many contradictions and questions as the 39-year-old has criminal convictions.
Steer surfaced again this week when Toronto cops busted him for allegedly attempting to pimp out a 16-year-old girl.
Sources say his latest charges will likely have to be dealt with before he can be booted out of the country a second time.
Steer’s life of crime began soon after coming to Canada in the early 1990s with a parent as his sponsor. He was deported in 1999 and then snuck back into the country the next year, allegedly using fake identification.
He applied for refugee status after re-entering Canada claiming he’d be persecuted in Jamaica.
Despite his criminal history, documents obtained by the Toronto Sun show his application was approved in 2003 by the Immigration and Refugee Board because “Canada does not remove refugees to a country where they would be at risk of persecution.”
Steer then tried for permanent residence status but was deemed inadmissible because he had committed too many serious criminal offences.
By 2006 Steer had racked up more than 75 convictions for assault, fraud, thefts and other offences. He had been in and out of prison but never more than three months at a time.
The immigration minister felt he was a danger to society and Steer found himself facing deportation a second time.
But before he could be sent packing, the IRB had to weigh the risk of his persecution in Jamaica versus the risk to the public if he stayed in Canada.
While the debate raged on, Steer was freed on $5,000 bail and ordered to report weekly.
Four years later, “the Canadian public won out” and Steer was again taken into custody. He immediately appealed.
The immigration minister fought to have Steer remain in custody during the process.
But an IRB judge decided Steer wasn’t a danger to the public.
The judge pointed out Steer had not been convicted of any crimes between 2006 and 2010 and he had reported as ordered.
Steer was freed after nine days of detention on a new $5,000 bond and restrictions were added to reduce his flight risk.
“He is on a short leash,” the IRB judge stated.
The immigration minister appealed the decision to federal court and asked Steer remain detained in the meantime.
Even though the ante had been upped with Steer’s removal from Canada now being more likely, a federal court judge determined he should be freed so he could continue working until a decision was made on his appeal.
It took eight months but the federal court judge ultimately overturned the IRB judge’s decision to release Steer.
However, by then Steer had gone underground. His name was later added to the Canada Border Service Agency’s list of most wanted fugitives released publicly last month.
Walford Uriah Steer, freed by the IRB in April as he awaited deportation, was arrested by Toronto Police this week for allegedly pimping a 16-year-old girl.
Career criminal sign of flawed immigration system
By Cris Doucette
TORONTO - Walford Uriah Steer, one of the latest fugitives wanted by the Canada Border Services Agency to be rounded up, has been steering his way through the country’s flawed immigration system for more than a decade.
The 39-year-old career criminal has been ordered deported twice, re-entered the country illegally and been dubbed a “danger” to society. But the Immigration and Refugee Board still released him out onto the street for the fourth time in April instead of immediately sending him packing.
Now the Jamaican-born deportee-turned-refugee-turned-fugitive is once again in custody after he was busted by Toronto cops for allegedly pimping a 16-year-old girl.
“Any way you slice it, it’s not acceptable,” Mike Patton, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, said Thursday.
He said Steer’s case highlights some of the serious problems the federal government is intent on fixing.
“The minister wants to see this stuff addressed,” Patton said, adding his boss is “in discussions” with the IRB, CBSA and others involved in an effort to plug the holes that allow for such abuses.
But it’s easier said than done, he said, explaining officials have to “be careful” not to make changes based on “a few weird exceptions.”
“You want to have a good, fair process,” Patton said.
Steer’s life of crime dates back to 1993, just months after he immigrated to Canada with a parent as a sponsor. By 1999, he had so many convictions for assault, theft, fraud and other offences that he was booted out of the country.
But Steer snuck back into Canada in 2000, presumably using a different name. He filed for refugee status, claiming he would be killed if he returned to Jamaica.
The IRB granted Steer refugee status in 2003.
By 2006, he had amassed a whopping 76 criminal convictions and was once again facing deportation.
Steer was set free while he fought to stay in the country.
The IRB couldn’t be reached, so the conditions of his release are unclear.
Steer surfaced again when he was arrested in 2010. He remained in custody until last April, when he was once again ordered to leave the country and then promptly set free to await deportation.
Steer disappeared again until Tuesday, when he was arrested by Toronto cops and slapped with a slew of new charges for allegedly attempting to convince a young teen to become a prostitute.
“The IRB must release deportees unless there is a profound reason to keep them in custody,” Patton said.
He said deportees are typically set free with instructions to report for deportation on a specified date and “most people comply.”
It’s also not uncommon for deportees to return and claim refugee status, he said. And even though they’ve already been deported, their claims must be heard at the taxpayers’ expense, again, before they can be booted out, again.
“They are entitled to due process each and every time,” Patton said.
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