Friends, Please take a few moments to write and call (sample templates below) in support of bringing at-risk Afghan refugee Mohammad Younesi to Toronto. This 27-year-old Afghan women's rights advocate and torture survivor is detained in a US immigration jail. Even though a US court agreed to release him to come to Canada, Canadian officials refuse to allow him in, despite the fact that the rest of his family were granted asylum on June 4, 2025.
If Canada refuses to act quickly and bring him here from the US, he faces deportation back to torture and possible death in Afghanistan. In December 2023, Mohammad was kidnapped, detained, tortured and subjected to forced labour at the hands of the Taliban.
Over 5,700 people have signed a petition in support of Mohammad. But he needs your help to put extra pressure on the Canadian government by calling and emailing (templates below)
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. Post this excellent Toronto Star article on social media (https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/u-s-authorities-agreed-to-release-this-afghan-refugee-to-join-family-in-canada-ottawa/article_4d0c2b15-1fdf-47e0-b27d-1b8e9179de07.html ). Please share the article with friends and family and encourage them to email the Minister as soon as possible.
2. Please email the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship today, copying Karim Bardeesy, the MP for Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park (where Mohammad's family lives), and also copy your own MP.
Not sure who your MP is? Look them up here:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en
Please feel free to customize and personalize this template (for example, you can still send the letter even if you are not a Canadian citizen). We want to emphasize how much support Mohammad and his family have in Toronto. When you sign the letter, please put in your postal code.
To: lenametlege.diab@parl.gc.ca, IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca,
CC: karim.bardeesy@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, Scott.Harris@cic.gc.ca, Harpreet.Kochhar@cic.gc.ca
Subject: Urgent Action Needed – Grant Endangered Afghan Women's Rights Advocate Mohammad Younesi a Permit to Enter Canada
Dear Minister Diab,
I am writing as a concerned Canadian.
I have read the article in the Toronto Star about Mohammad Younesi, a young Afghan refugee whose family has recently arrived in Canada. I am very worried that Mohammad will soon be deported from the U.S. to Afghanistan as Canada did not issue him the necessary permit to come here in time.
After a dangerous journey to escape persecution in Afghanistan, most of the Younesi family made it to Canada to claim and receive refugee status and have begun to build new lives here. A community has grown fast around this wonderful family - a testament to the kindness and warmth they show to everyone they meet. The community stands ready to support them as they build their language skills, seek employment, and continue to build our community and society like so many others like them.
However, their youngest son Mohammad has been stuck in a detention centre in Texas for ten months. And now, his application for a temporary residency permit has been denied by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. As a result, he could be deported back to Afghanistan - where he was previously kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban - at any time.
I am scared and worried and cannot imagine how much worse these feelings are for his family.
As a Canadian, I have always been proud of our values to open our arms to those around the world who are fleeing danger, looking for someone to help them build a new life in safety. This is one of those times. I urge you to re-consider Mohammad's application to enter Canada as soon as possible to re-join his family.
Thank you,
NAME, Postal Code
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Phone Call (please leave a message if you get the machine, and be polite in your tone!):
Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab: 613-996-3085
Hi, my name is XXX and I am calling from XXX about the case of Mohammad Younesi, a young Afghan refugee whose family was accepted in Canada but who remains stuck in US detention because Canada will not grant him a temporary residence permit. I understand that Mohammad’s lawyer has asked the minister to reconsider her original decision, and I hope that she will grant him a permit quickly, as he otherwise faces deportation to torture or death in Afghanistan. Thank you!