Muhammad Zain Ul Haq and Sophia Papp

Muhammad Zain Ul Haq, a 23-year-old university student and climate activist in British Columbia may be deported to Pakistan in less than a week. Haq who helped spearhead campaigns for campus fossil fuel divestment and to save Canadian old growth forests, has been arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience about 10 times in Canada. In 2022, the Canadian Border Services Agency revoked his temporary student visa and issued an exclusion order alleging that he was not making adequate progress toward his degree at Simon Fraser University. At that time, he had not yet been convicted of any charges. Now, he’s facing a removal date of April 22—Earth Day. Haq’s story has drawn attention from climate activists who have questioned the speed with which the CBSA mobilized to remove Haq from the country, alleging that the government seems eager to remove someone they have identified as a movement leader and a thorn in their side.