A Belgian farmer who was arrested on immigration charges in Ottawa Saturday says he is ready to give up his battle and return to his native land.
RELATED: Belgian man, son arrested on immigration warrant
"I'm not violent. I'm not a danger to society," Michel Van Hauve said Sunday from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, where the 44-year-old and his 17-year-old son Blaise were being held. "If they want to send me home, put me on a plane."
The Van Hauve family has been hiding off and on since last summer when they were refused permission to remain in Canada because Michel Van Hauve had failed to disclose a 25-year-old conviction for breaking and entering and theft.
FROM JAN. 12, 2006: Ottawa group hides Belgian family from deportation
Van Hauve, his wife Susan Myers and their son have been in Canada for eight years, long after their original work permit expired.
Van Hauve was arrested Saturday when they were pulled over by police during a routine traffic stop. Police discovered an outstanding Canada Border Services warrant and arrested Van Hauve and his son.
Dressed in a standard prison-issue orange jumpsuit, Van Hauve said he hasn't spoken to his wife or son since his arrest. But he said he would rather be back home in Belgium than locked up like a common criminal.
His son is also in custody, but Myers has fled, vowing to remain a fugitive.
The Van Hauve family could be sent back to Belgium in a matter of days if they give up their fight, Canada Border Services spokesman Chris Kealey told Canadian Press Sunday.
"It could happen as quickly as we could find tickets for them," Kealey said, noting the family has exhausted nearly all of its options.
The Van Hauves have become a cause célèbre in the Ottawa valley.
About 50 farmers in the Navan region west of Ottawa have been protesting the deportation order for months. Liberal and Conservative candidates in the recent federal election attended a rally in support of the family last January.