Terminally-ill Juana Tejada's wish to be given permanent-residency status in Canada has been granted by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). At a press conference held on July 18, 2008, Juana's lawyer, Rafael Fabregas, announced that the CIC has found Ms. Juana, a Filipino caregiver, eligible for permanent-residency status and would grant her visa application once all landing requirements have been met.

This is great news for Ms. Juana and all her supporters. The threat of deportation that has been hanging over her head, and weighing down her spirits, has been lifted. As Ms. Juana herself stated during the press conference, she could now focus on fighting her deadly medical condition.

Ms. Tejada personally asked Mila and Oswald Magno, the petition organizers, to extend her thanks individually to all of her supporters, especially those in Canada who aided her fight for permanent residency. Without a doubt, the strong show of support from 2,551 online petitioners and the Filipino-Canadian community for Ms. Juana helped persuade the Canadian authorities to reverse the deportation order.

Editor’s Note: Please see an earlier “Unsolicited Advice” column on the Tejada case, Dying With Dignity: The Case of the Filipino Caregiver in CanadaMs. Tejada and her supporters thank also Prime Minister Harper and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley, for listening to her and the community’s appeal for humanitarian consideration and acting favorably. They have restored the faith in the innate goodness of Canadians.

Last but not least, people appreciated Ms. Juana for remaining steadfast in her fight against the deportation order. She has said that she is fighting not just for her rights but also for those of other caregivers like her. Her resolute determination to pursue her case until the end has paved the way for the establishment of a precedent-setting decision that will likely benefit many of the thousands of caregivers in Canada who may find themselves in a similar situation.  The CIC decision in Ms. Juana's case may lead to the removal of the requirement for a second medical examination as a condition for obtaining permanent residency status for caregivers, an onerous-and-unfair requirement that applies only to the caregiver class of temporary workers. For her heroic fight for better treatment of caregivers, Ms. Tejada deserves the community’s praise, admiration and gratitude.

Ms. Juana's fight with the CIC is all but over, but her fight against her deadly cancer is not. As was reported in the news media, she has stage-4 cancer that has spread to her lungs and is taking morphine to ease her pain. Her supporters are requested to please remember Juana in their prayers and ask the Almighty for her speedy recovery so that her joy will be complete. She still needs a lot of help.

Here is the report sent to this writer by the petition organizers, Mila and Oswald Magno, about the latest development on the Juana Tejada case:

Dear Bobby,

You signed the petition, Allow Juana Tejada to stay - and die - in Canada, on Jun 26, 2008.   The petition received 2,551 signatures. The petition author, Mila and Oswald Magno, has now closed the petition and posted the results:

Message from the petition author, Mila and Oswald Magno:

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To all of you caring and compassionate people who signed the online petition and opened their hearts to Juana:

We are pleased to confirm that Juana's dying wish to be given permanent residency status in Canada has been granted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).  At a press conference held July 18, 2008, Juana's lawyer, Rafael Fabregas, announced that CIC has found Juana eligible for permanent residency status and will grant her visa application once all landing requirements have been met.

This is great news for Juana and all her supporters.  The threat of deportation that has been hanging over Juana's head, and weighing down her spirits, has been lifted. As Juana herself stated during the press conference, she can now focus on fighting her deadly medical condition.

We were at the press conference and were asked by Juana personally to extend her thanks to all of you.  So, on Juana's behalf, we thank you for signing the online petition.  Without a doubt, your strong show of support for Juana helped persuade the authorities to reverse the deportation order.

We also thank Prime Minister Harper and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley, for listening to Juana's appeal for humanitarian consideration and acting accordingly. They have restored our faith in the innate goodness of Canadians.

Last but not least, we also thank Juana for remaining steadfast in her fight against the deportation order.  She has said that she is fighting not just for her rights but also for those of other caregivers like her.  Her resolute determination to pursue her case until the end has in our view paved the way for the establishment of a precedent-setting decision that will likely benefit many of the thousands of caregivers in Canada who may find themselves in a similar situation.  The CIC decision in Juana's case may lead to the removal of the requirement for a second medical examination as a condition for obtaining permanent residency status for caregivers, an onerous and unfair requirement that applies only to the caregiver class of temporary workers. For her heroic fight for better treatment of caregivers, Juana deserves our praise, admiration and gratitude.

Juana's fight with the CIC is all but over, but her fight against her deadly cancer is not.  As was reported in the news media, Juana has stage 4 cancer that has spread to her lungs and is taking morphine to ease her pain.  We ask you to please remember Juana in your prayers.  Please lift her up in your daily prayers and ask the Almighty for her speedy recovery so that her joy will be complete.  She still needs our help.

Gratefully,

Oswald and Mila Magno
www.juana-tejada.info

Click this link http://www.scribd.com/full/3994278?access_key=key-27sw8mhtfiiezz107g9v to view press release issued by Juana Tejada's lawyer.

Click this link http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/5465364_nRJHq#334139453_k6qPy to view photos taken during the press conference.

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