A 30-year-old African American man is seeking refugee status in Canada, reportedly claiming he's a member of a minority that's "being exterminated at an alarming rate."
Kyle Canty is arguing before Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board in Vancouver that he fears for his life,
CBC News reports.
"I'm in fear of my life because I'm black," Canty said during a hearing last week, CBC News reports. "This is a well-founded fear," he said, referring to the slayings of unarmed black men in New York and Missouri.
"When I see the police coming in the U.S., I cross the street."
The New York-born, Canty submitted evidence to the Canadian board that he alleges demonstrates police have harassed him in every U.S. state he's lived in.
"I got bothered because I'm black," he charges. "This is a history of false arrest. My name is ruined because of the false arrest."
Canty says he has outstanding charges in multiple states for things including jaywalking, issuing threats, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest — and won't go back to fight the charges.
"I already know the outcome," he tells CBC News.
Canty lives in a homeless shelter in Vancouver, CBC News reports.
Canadian board spokeswoman Melissa Anderson tells
The Daily Beast a decision will be issued within the next few weeks, describing "refugee protection and refugee discrimination" as a "complex issue."
According to CBC News, no more than 10 U.S. citizens are granted asylum by the IRB in Canada each year. In 2013 there were only three.
Hollywood actor
Randy Quaid applied for refugee status in 2010, claiming he was being persecuted and possibly marked for death — a claim he later withdrew. Quaid had been denied permanent residency in the country in 2013.