Members of the Rojas Martinez family, Whitehorse residents who attracted national attention this week as they face imminent deportation, may have altered documents and signatures to heighten their chances of staying in Canada, says Yukon MP Ryan Leef.

Sergio Rojas and Linda Martinez recently made a last-ditch plea to the Immigration department to let them remain in the country on compassionate grounds due to the medical condition of their three- year-old son Jonathan, a Canadian citizen.

The couple claimed Jonathan, who suffers from skull deformation and a neck muscle disorder, requires daily attention — supposedly unavailable in Mexico, Rojas’s home country — for a dire condition, though studies suggest otherwise.

Leef told the Star this morning he has discovered that a letter from the Yukon Child Development Centre critical to their remaining on Canadian soil had been “altered” and “embellished” without consent.

The parents appear to have beefed up the urgency and extent of Jonathan’s treatment, he said.

“They in fact didn’t just embellish; they added lines about the quality of care and review for what Mexico could provide ... effectively saying that there were limited facilities in Mexico, effectively painting a picture that Canada would be the only location — if in fact any of this were needed at all,” Leef said.

“Signatures on the letter were then changed.”

Leef, who spoke with the family twice last weekend and met with Immigration Minister Chris Alexander on Monday, said he will be stepping back from the case but has forwarded all the relevant facts and documents to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. These include the altered lines and forged signatures.

“It’s my opinion that it’s no longer in the public interest of Yukoners or Canadians for me to continue to advocate for the family,” Leef said from Ottawa.

The MP labelled the alterations a “betrayal” and stressed “the integrity of our system.

“The manipulation of any process is unfair to any others who with their time, with their money, their personal effort and sometimes tremendous sacrifice, follow the law to achieve Canadian citizenship and Canadian residency.

“Taking advantage of that only risks generating future reluctance to support people who are truly in need,” he said.

Last year, the Department of Immigration rejected the family’s two consecutive appeals for permanent residency on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, granted in cases when applicants “would suffer excessive hardship” by returning to their home country.

Leef said the discovery shows that “the process works.”

He had previously emphasized his willingness to guide the family through red tape and offer limited advice, but also underscored the independence of the immigration review process.

Citizens want to know that their political representatives “are going to act with their head as much as their heart,” he added.

He further noted the discovery puts him in an embarrassing spot with the minister. Immigration officials deal with more than 10,000 files everyday, and Leef had them rush the Rojas Martinez case “to the front.”

He also said there is “more information at our disposal that I cannot discuss” which casts the family in an unfavourable light.

Leef said earlier this week that a lack of dire medical urgency may be somewhat beside the point.

“Jonathan is a Yukon-born resident. He’s a Canadian citizen. He’s one of ours.”

He emphasized the de facto deportation of a local toddler.

“This is effectively sending away a Canadian citizen,” Leef told the Star Monday.

“It’s incumbent upon us to some degree that we understand the fate to which we’re sending people and that we’re not guessing at it.”

The child development centre told the Star today it could not comment on individual cases.

The Yukon Human Rights Commission added its voice to the discussion this week, without knowledge of the apparent falsifications.

Jessica Thompson, director of human rights for the commission, urged the government “to take all opportunities to be a leader in the field of human rights and to reflect and promote Canadian values under the Charter,” CBC radio reported today.

The family was in Vancouver awaiting departure to Mexico — as ordered by the federal government — when news of the apparent falsifications broke.

Jonathan suffers from plagiocephaly — sometimes referred to as “flat head syndrome” — and congenital torticollis.

He spent much of each week at the child development centre and has received treatment at the B.C. Children’s Hospital.

Plagiocephaly, a malformation of the skull that can develop in the womb or during birth, is “considered a medically benign condition,” according to a study published by the National Institute of Health in 2005.

A B.C. Children’s Hospital summary from 2008, co-written by the institution’s former head of pediatric neurosurgery, wrote that plagiocephaly “is not thought to be associated with developmental delays or other medical issues, but the effect on cosmetic appearance can cause significant parental concern.”

Symptoms of torticollis in newborns and infants include neck muscle damage, especially on one side, which can lead to a flattened head from consistently lying or resting on the same side, according to the Stanford Children’s Health network.