Classmates and teachers spend Christmas in church to support student who says he faces persecution
A Toronto high school student has been arrested and is awaiting deportation to Mexico. Daniel Garcia, a grade 11 student at Parkdale Collegiate Institute, fled from Mexico with his sister in 2007 and claimed refugee status, stating that they feared for their lives. After the claim was rejected, Garcia applied for a pre-removal risk assessment to investigate whether it was safe for him to return to Mexico. He says he had not received a decision but told the Canadian Press that immigration officials told him that a decision had been sent in the mail. On Saturday, teachers and students spent Christmas Day gathered in a church in support of Garcia. His sister Brenda was deported on Monday.