John Haslam stands on the balcony of the Vernon motel he's called home for almost 18 months.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

An Irish family stuck in legal limbo over their immigration status has taken court action against the federal government and is arguing their 19-year-old transgender son should not be sent back to Ireland due to the persecution he will face being a transgender person.

John Haslam and his wife Sharon Tyrrell filed their case in B.C. Supreme Court against the Attorney General of Canada Sept. 9, in the hopes that legal action will resolve their complicated immigration issues.

Currently, the family is not legally allowed to be in the country.

For now, the couple and their three children are living in a Vernon motel, unable to work or send their kids to school.

"It's very draining," Haslam told iNFOnews.ca. "(Every) day is repetitive, it's the same day over and over, nothing changes."

Sitting in the small motel room that the family of five has called home for almost 18 months, it's clear from the looks on their faces that the situation is taking its toll.

"Mentally it's draining," Haslam said.

The family from County Kildare first came to Canada in 2013 after Haslam went to a work abroad expo in Dublin and secured a job in construction in Alberta.

The family submitted applications to become permanent residents, but a mistake made by their employer in the paperwork kiboshed their plan to stay in Canada.

They headed back to Ireland and during this time their son, Adam, came out as a transgender person.

"We were shocked," Tyrrell said.

"It took a bit to understand," Haslam admitted.

"We had to understand it's his life it's not our life," Tyrrell added.

While Ireland may be an EU member and western democracy, the couple says the Catholic church still has a strong grip on the country.

"It's a very religious place... education is all based around religion, even to this day," she said.

Adam's experience at school didn't go well.

The teaching staff refused to call Adam by his name, only referring to him by his birth name, Kate.

Adam wasn't allowed to use the men's bathroom.

"It was isolating, there was bullying going on in the school," Tyrrell said. "Even outside school, he'd be targeted."

He got a reprieve in Canada.

"It feels like he's more accepted here," Tyrrell said.

The family reapplied for Canadian visas and moved back to Canada settling in Vernon in 2019.

Things were going well, they rented a house and Haslam got a job in construction, as Tyrrell went back to school and worked in Walmart.

The kids all went to school.

Then, quite by chance, and totally accidentally, the family crossed the U.S. border the day after their visa expired.

Haslam said when they realized their visa had expired, and failing to get anyone on the phone, they drove to Osoyoos to speak to Canada immigration about what they should do.

Unfortunately, they drove too far and found themselves face to face with an American border official.

The family explained they didn't want to enter the U.S. just to speak to a Canadian official.

However, they then had to re-enter Canada.

With their visa expired one day earlier, the situation got rather complex.

They were allowed back into Canada, but stripped of their right to work or send their kids to school.

Almost 18 months after accidentally leaving the country they're still waiting for an immigration hearing on their situation.

Any money they had is long gone, and they have been living off donations largely from the Irish diaspora in Canada and the U.S. although this has now dried up.

Currently, Vernon housing charity Turning Points is looking after them.

"It's hard," Tyrrell said. "We came over here to provide for our kids."

"It's been taken away," Haslam adds.

Annoyingly, the family now knows they could have just applied for a visa extension, which almost certainly would have been granted.

To add to their immigration woes, Adam, who is now 19, was singled out from the family because he's now an adult and he's been put in a different immigration stream.

The recent court filings ask for him to be included with the family in their immigration hearing.

The immigration process is very complex, and luckily a friend has taken on their case for free.

Canadian-Irish Citizen Padraig Mac Roibeaird overheard Tyrrell's accent on a trip to Walmart. The two got chatting and became friends.

While Mac Roibeaird is not an immigration lawyer, his previous experience in the B.C. Supreme Court and extensive reading mean he's got a good grasp of the complexities of the law.

Mac Roibeaird said there's a chance the family will be issued a work visa while they wait on the final say from immigration.

If this happens they can at least continue on with normal life until they get a final decision.

Mac Roibeaird says the Canadian government should also recognize Adam as a protected person under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Refugee Protection Act.

If this happens, Adam will be granted permanent residency, which will in turn allow his parents and sibling to also become permanent residents.

It is complicated and the legal paperwork is lengthy and complex.

For now, they know they won't be forcefully removed from the country, but are stuck without the ability to work or send their two youngest children to school.

"The kids are always asking us when are we going back to school," Tyrrell said.

The family does have their Irish passports and could technically return to Ireland, at least if they had the money for the plane tickets.

But they say it's too hard on Adam.

"We're doing it to protect Adam, we're doing it for the kids," Tyrrell said.

For now, they remain stranded, living in a small motel on the side of a highway in Vernon, unable to work or send their kids to school.

The family can be contacted at pmacroibeaird@gmail.com.

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