By Courage to Resist. September 20, 2012

US war resister Kimberly Rivera was deported this morning from Canada and is currently under arrest by the US military. She is expected to face prosecution–and up to five years in a US military brig–at Fort Carson, Colorado. Courage to Resist is in contact with Kimberly’s US-based civilian attorney. We’re committed to assisting the Rivera family in any way possible. We’ll be posting additional information soon.

Courage to Resist staged a vigil at the San Francisco Canadian consulate September 18, 2012 (photo above) in a last-ditch effort to convince Canada to do the right thing. 

“Female U.S. war resister deported” by the Canadian Broadcast Corp. September 20, 2012

Background

Kimberly Rivera is a US soldier who fled to Canada after she became disillusioned with the Iraq War in 2007. Kimberly, who lives in Toronto with her family, went to Canada to avoid a second tour in Iraq. She had initially arrived while on leave but then applied for refugee status from the Canadian government. Kimberly grew to oppose the Iraq war while she was taking part in it. She is currently appealing a Canadian court ruling that would have her deported to the US by next Thursday, September 20th. She faces up to five years in military prison if returned to the US.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said the Canadian federal government does not believe the US subjects its soldiers to persecution. “Military deserters from the United States are not genuine refugees under the internationally accepted meaning of the term,” said Alexis Pavlich, the minister’s press secretary, in an email.

Rivera is also considering asking the government to delay her deportation while her humanitarian and compassionate grounds application is still being weighed.

“My biggest fear is being separated from my children and having to sit in a prison for politically being against the war in Iraq,” Kimberly Rivera declared during a recent press conference in Toronto.