The Man With No Name now claims he is Michael Mvogo of Cameroon, but he was previously similarly adamant several other names were his true identity.
Until Canada knows who he is and where he was born, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) cannot deport him. Until he can be deported, the government is unwilling to release him.
As revealed by the National Post, his incarceration has lasted eight years.
Normally, eight years in immigration detention is a “very compelling reasons in favour of release,” wrote IRB adjudicator Harry Adamidis in his recent ruling. In the bizarre case of the Man With No Name, however, little has been normal.
“He has engaged in identity fraud for 28 years,” wrote the adjudicator. “Given the scale of his past deceptions, Mr. Mvogo’s stated identity cannot be accepted at face value.”
He rejected the man’s requests for sweeping change to the immigration detention system in general and his release in particular.
The IRB “does not have the authority to issue an order that establishes a presumptive period of immigration detention for deportees,” he wrote.
He also rejected the argument Mr. Mvogo’s detention is indefinite or the fault of CBSA.
“Mr. Mvogo is the greatest contributor to his lengthy time in detention,” wrote Mr. Adamidis.
“Mr. Mvogo cannot credibly argue that his indefinite detention violates his charter rights, while perpetrating the circumstances which cause his immigration detention to be lengthy.”
In 1986, the man was arrested in Spain for possession of narcotics and identified himself as Philippe Jacques Hauris. Later, he duped the United States into issuing him a passport in the name of Andrea Jerome Walker.
He used that passport to come to Canada in 2005. When he was convicted in 2006 in Toronto for carrying $10-worth of crack, the CBSA tried to deport him but his bogus passport was uncovered.
Since then he has been in limbo.
A global fingerprint search by Interpol, the international police organization, came back with eight different identities. He repeatedly lied about his identity, offering a name and nationality until the lie was proved, then offering a different name.
For years he seemed content to remain in detention. In recent years, his cooperation appears to have increased and the government’s efforts to solve the riddle likewise escalated.
The CBSA even conducted a clandestine operation to return him to Africa, using dodgy travel documents bought from a mysterious Serbian fixer. The mission ended in debacle, with Canadian agents and their prisoner stopped at Guinea’s airport.
A United Nations committee has told Canada Mr. Mvogo’s incarceration violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Canada is a signatory to, and should be released.
The report was not deemed relevant.
“The opinion rendered by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has no legal force in Canada,” Mr. Adamidis wrote, adding it was based on flawed facts.
The CBSA said the integrity of Canada’s immigration system is at stake,
“The CBSA acknowledges that Mr. Mvogo has been detained for removal for a substantial period. However, the length of his detention is owing to his lack of cooperation in establishing his identity and he remains in Canada, despite CBSA’s sustained efforts to effect his removal,” said Anna Pape, a spokeswoman for the agency.
“As detention is costly, alternatives which would mitigate the risk of release are always considered first, as are the length of time to removal, and the cooperation of the person.
“Those who do not cooperate in identifying themselves are responsible for their own detention.”
The IRB decision was made in December, but only released this week through an Access to Information request.
National Post
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