A 31-year-old Montreal mother who says she fled Mexico five years ago because of domestic violence will be forced to return to her native country, after a judge ruled that her deportation proceedings could move forward.

Paola Ortiz fled her homeland in 2006, after allegedly suffering abuse at the hands of a former partner. But a year after landing in Canada, the Immigration Review Board turned down her application for refugee status.

"They said that there is protection for women who are in danger in Mexico, which is just absolutely false," her lawyer, Stewart Istvanffy, told CTVNews.ca in a brief telephone interview on Monday morning.

"They said there's a legal presumption that Mexico is a functioning country and that she should have made complaints with the police there, which she did, of course. And they said that there is protection of the state in Mexico and nobody believes that."

Ortiz received a deportation notice on Thursday and Istvanffy filed for a judicial stay of removal the next day. But a judge ruled Monday evening that her deportation could proceed.

She spent five years fighting to stay in the country, getting married and giving birth to two children along the way.

She also made efforts to become a Canadian citizen.

"She's been sponsored by her husband and she's already received a Quebec selection certificate, so she's not that far from getting permanent residency," Istvanffy said.

Ortiz fears her two Canadian-born children -- one of whom is autistic, while the other requires surgery for ear infections -- will be put at risk if they accompany her back to Mexico.

"It's not safe for them in Mexico, but if they stay in Canada, they won't have their mother. I know what my children need," Ortiz told CTV Montreal on the weekend.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Kevin Gallagher