Randy Quaid detained in Canada after failed residency bid
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Version 0 of 1. The actor Randy Quaid has said he is being detained by Canadian border agents and threatened with deportation over a longstanding property dispute with California officials. Quaid has been seeking permanent residency in Canada and has been living with his wife Evi, a dual Canadian-US citizen, in Montreal for three years. Related: Quaid drops Brokeback pay suit He said a Canada Border Services officer arrested him when he checked in with the agency on Tuesday morning as required after his application for permanent residency was rejected. “I met every condition but they are saying ‘You’re not going to leave if we tell you to leave,’” Quaid said in a telephone interview from a detention centre near Montreal. A spokeswoman from CBSA would not confirm or deny the arrest. Quaid had sought asylum in Canada in 2010, claiming that business associates sought to harm him, but was arrested in Vancouver in 2010 over what he has said is an outstanding warrant connected with a Santa Barbara property dispute. He later dropped the asylum application and sought permanent residency. “We love Montreal. It has a great film scene. My wife is here, she’s Canadian, and we should be able to be together. We’ve been married 26 years,” Quaid said. Quaid, 65, is known for movies such as The Last Picture Show, Independence Day, Brokeback Mountain and The Last Detail, for which he received an Oscar nomination. He is the older brother of the actor Dennis Quaid. Quaid, a Texas native, and his wife were arrested in California in 2010 on suspicion of burglary and entering a building without consent. Quaid said the building was their own home, after a failed attempt to sell it, and says they still own the property. Evi Quaid was charged with failing to pay a bill at a hotel but said in a phone interview she disputed both charges. “It’s a property dispute. This should not be a criminal dispute at all,” Randy Quaid said. The couple said they expected Canadian officials to try to deport him but would prefer to voluntarily leave and reapply for permanent residency from abroad. “If I judge says we have to leave, we will leave. I can’t be deported – that will screw up my ability to make films in other countries,” Quaid said. |