Facing potential removal from Canada as their entry into the country was facilitated by agents in India using fraudulent documentation, several former international students are staging an indefinite demonstration in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA, which will continue till the deportation process is stopped.
These former students have gathered at the makeshift location on Airport Road in Mississauga, set up temporary shelter, hoping for a resolution to their collective problem.
These students arrived in Canada between 2017 and 2019, and in rare instances, in 2020. They started receiving notices from the CBSA in 2021 and last year, for a hearing as the agency concluded the letter of offer of admission to a Canadian higher education institution, which formed the basis of their study permits, was “fake.”
The majority of the affected students were represented by the agent Brijesh Mishra of the Jalandhar-based counselling firm EMSA Education and Migration Services Australia.
The ex-students said they were being victimized for no fault of theirs. In an open letter under the banner of Victim Students released in March, they said, “We are desperate for justice; we are victims of fraud; we have no criminal level but facing a removal order.”
The current protest, which began in Monday, was triggered by a removal order received by Lovepreet Singh, who is originally from Mohali in Punjab. He has been asked by the the Canadian Border Services Agency or CBSA to leave the country on June 13.
{{/usCountry}}The current protest, which began in Monday, was triggered by a removal order received by Lovepreet Singh, who is originally from Mohali in Punjab. He has been asked by the the Canadian Border Services Agency or CBSA to leave the country on June 13.
{{/usCountry}}One of the impacted ex-students involved in the protest is Inder Singh, originally from Amritsar, who said, “We will continue protesting till Lovepreet’s deportation on June 13 is cancelled and a solution is found to our cases.”
The location was chosen as its adjacent to a CBSA office. The ex-students plan a large protest march in front of that centre on Friday.
There are at least 30 other such students facing removal proceedings, though all cases haven’t escalated to the final order being passed, as yet. Another 130 or so cases are being investigated.
Another student Karamjeet Kaur, from Edmonton and originally from Faridkot, was facing removal on May 30, but has given a temporary stay on the grounds that her safety would be compromised if she returned to India. That deferment will continue till a judicial review of is undertaken in this connection.
They are also hoping the Government will respond positively to their plight. That hope is based on a recent tweet from Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser who said, “We recognize the immense contributions international students bring to our country & remain committed to supporting victims of fraud as we evaluate each case.”