Walford Uriah Steer is a black career criminal who sneaked back into Canada after being deported 12 years ago because of his lengthy rap sheet

But ironically the recently captured fugitive’s latest brush with the law may be just the ticket he needs to steer clear of a second one-way trip back to his native Jamaica. It’s the latest bizarre twist in a confusing immigration story with almost as many contradictions and questions as the 39-year-old has criminal convictions. Steer surfaced again when Toronto cops busted him for attempting to pimp out a 16-year-old girl. This latest charges will likely have to be dealt with before he can be deported from Canada a second time. Steer’s life of crime began soon after coming to Canada in the early 1990s with a parent as his sponsor. He was deported in 1999 and then sneaked back into Canada the next year, using fake identification. He applied for refugee status after re-entering Canada claiming that he’d be persecuted in Jamaica. Despite his criminal history, his application was approved in 2003 by the Immigration and Refugee Board because “Canada does not remove refugees to a country where they would be at risk of persecution.” Steer then tried for permanent residence status but was deemed inadmissible because he had committed too many serious criminal offenses. By 2006 Steer had racked up more than 75 convictions for assault, fraud, thefts and other offenses. The immigration minister felt that he was a danger to society and Steer found himself facing deportation a second time. But before he could be sent packing, the IRB had to weigh the risk of his persecution in Jamaica versus the risk to the public if he stayed in Canada. While the debate raged on, Steer was freed on $5,000 bail and ordered to report weekly. Four years later, “the Canadian public won out” and Steer was again taken into custody. He immediately appealed. The immigration minister fought to have Steer remain in custody during the process. But an IRB judge decided that Steer wasn’t a danger to the public. The judge pointed out that Steer had not been convicted of any crimes between 2006 and 2010 and that he had reported as ordered. Steer was freed after nine days of detention on a new $5,000 bond and restrictions were added to supposedly reduce his flight risk. “He is on a short leash,” the IRB judge claimed. The immigration minister appealed the decision to federal court and asked that Steer remain detained in the meantime. Even though the ante had been upped with Steer’s removal from Canada now being more likely, a federal court judge determined that he should be freed so he could continue working until a decision was made on his appeal. It took eight months but the federal court judge ultimately overturned the IRB judge’s decision to release Steer. However, by then Steer had gone underground. His name was later added to the Canada Border Service Agency’s list of most wanted fugitives.