[citation needed] A social media campaign was thought of and organized by students of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in response to a call to overturn the deportation order against Figueroa.
The "We are Jose" campaign came to public light on 16 January 2011, on the anniversary of the signing of the peace agreement of Chapultepec, Mexico, that put an end to the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War.
There have also been several decisions made by Canadian government officials, including one by a delegate from the Minister of Immigration, on 27 March 2013, to enforce the refusal of a humanitarian grounds application that had been filed on 25 June 2002 and approved in principle on 12 July 2004.
[citation needed] On 4 October 2013, Figueroa was forced to claim sanctuary at Walnut Grove Lutheran Church in the city of Langley, BC, where he remained for over two years until he was granted a ministerial exemption by Minister of Immigration John McCallum.
[citation needed] The finding of inadmissibility by the Immigration and Refugee Board against Figueroa on 5 May 2010, when compared with the fact that if the allegation had been brought against a prominent figure such a Nelson Mandela, highlights an evident paradox in the law.