Fonds F2558 - Friends of Mauricio fonds

The Friends of Mauricio was formed in December 1993 in response to the plight of Mauricio Romero. A native of El Salvador whose parents and siblings had immigrated to Calgary, Alberta, Romero was refused refugee status by the government of Canada on the grounds that he suffered from mental illness. Two of his brothers had been killed during the Salvadoran military regime, and he believed that he would suffer the same fate if deported. He was offered sanctuary by the Unitarian Church of Calgary, and several other Calgary churches and individuals joined together to support him and his family. After negotiations with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, he was finally permitted to immigrate in May 1994 on the condition that his supporters guarantee his financial independence. As soon as his residence in Canada was assured, his health problems, which had been caused by anxiety, disappeared. The Friends of Mauricio continued to exist as an organization, to provide support to the Romero family and advocacy for refugee issues in Canada. By 1998 it had become largely a social group, and ceased keeping minutes of its meetings.