A refugee is a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…

The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees

Leonardo Zúñiga, better known as Leo, is a 25 years old, Mexican born immigrant who came to Canada in September 2004. Since Leo moved to Toronto he has been struggling to seek Permanent Residency based on his sexual orientation as a gay man. Since arriving in Canada, Leo has been active in the LGTBQ, Latino, and youth communities and has drawn on his own experiences as an LGTBQ immigrant youth to support those who find themselves in similar situations.

At the present Leo is working on a campaign called LET LEO STAY. Its three main goals are; to get Leo be granted Permanent Residency based on his Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds application, create awareness about queer refugee and immigrant issues in Canada and to speak out about the homophobia existing in Mexico, despite the positive and progressive international image it has regarding human rights.

In December 2004 Leo made a refugee claim based on persecution for his sexual orientation. In June of 2006, William T. Short of the Immigration and Refugee Board refused Leo’s claim on the grounds that his fears were not well-established. Ignoring the pervasiveness of homophobia in Mexico, including the fact that over 1000 gay people have been murdered in the past 10 years with little sign of justice, Short reported that Leo could simply move to another part of Mexico to avoid persecution.

Right now the only hope for Leo to stay is have a successful Humanitarian and Compassionate application. The LET LEO STAY campaign is asking people to sign the online Petition requesting the Minister of Immigration Honorable Diane Finley to grant Leo Permanent Residency.

On July 12th, 2007, Leo organized an event at the 519 Community Centre attended by over 150 community members entitled the “Invisible Struggle” to highlight the conditions of LGTBQ people in Mexico and the barriers they face upon seeking asylum in Canada.

In addition to gathering over 1,000 online petition signatures and 500 hard copy signatures, Leo’s grassroots campaign has received support from MP Olivia Chow, MPP Cheri DiNovo, MPP George Smitherman, Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, Councillor Shelly Carroll, Councillor Adam Giambrone, Councillor Howard Moscoe, Councillor Kyle Rae, and Councillor Adam Vaughan among so many other Politicians and community Leaders.

“Leo has already contributed a great deal to our community as a human rights advocate and supporter,” said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director of EGALE Canada, a national organization committed to advancing equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identified people, and their families, across Canada. “Now we have to focus our efforts on making sure he is not deported to Mexico where being gay is not an accepted way of life.”

Recently Xtra! Magazine published the story of Enrique Villegas, a gay Mexican refugee claimant who was murdered upon return to Mexico after the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board rejected his refugee protection claim in 2003. Villegas was found dead in his Mexico City apartment in April 2007

We all deserve to be happy and to have freedom. Why not give the opportunity to someone who is asking for compassion to be able to live without fear, persecution and judgment in a Country where we respect human rights integrity?

If you want to know more about this and support him please go to Leo’s website and sign his on-line Petition at www.leonardozuniga.ca