Several international students in Canada are staging indefinite protests amid a growing threat of their potential removal from the country. The demonstration, which began in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) this week, is expected to continue till the deportation process is stopped.
Their entry into the country was enabled by Indian agents using deceitful documentation.
These students had majorly arrived in the country between the years 2017 and 2019 to pursue higher education. They were informed that their admission offer letters were fake at the time they applied for permanent residency in Canada and their documents were investigated.
Now, at least 700 students are facing removal from the country and have been served with deportation letters by the Canadian Border Security Agency earlier this year.
These students started the protest at a makeshift location on Airport Road in Mississauga and set up a temporary shelter in the region as the protest was launched on Monday, as per a report by Hindustan Times.
The majority of the ones affected were represented by the agent Brijesh Mishra of the Jalandhar-based counselling firm EMSA Education and Migration Services Australia.
The former students said that they were being tormented for no fault of theirs.
This year in the month of March, they wrote an open letter under the banner of Victim Students saying, “We are desperate for justice; we are victims of fraud; we have no criminal level but facing a removal order.”
The agitation was triggered by an expulsion order received by Lovepreet Singh.
Singh, who hails from Mohali in Punjab, has been asked to exit the country by June 13.
Hindustan Times cited one of the impacted students Inder Singh as saying, “We will continue protesting till Lovepreet’s deportation on June 13 is cancelled and a solution is found to our cases.”
The location chosen for the protest is close to a CBSA office and the ex-students plan a large demonstration on Friday in front of that centre.
At least 30 more students are facing expulsion proceedings, though all cases have not yet escalated to the final order being passed. Another 130 or so cases are being probed.
Another student Karamjeet Kaur from Edmonton, hailing from Faridkot in Punjab, was facing expulsion on May 30 but has been granted a temporary stay that her safety would be compromised if she was sent back to India.
The suspension will continue till a judicial review is undertaken in this concern.
We recognize the immense contributions international students bring to our country & remain committed to supporting victims of fraud as we evaluate each case.
We’re also working closely with institutions to verify acceptance letters are valid at the time of application.
— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) May 26, 2023
Recently, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser took to Twitter and said, “We recognize the immense contributions international students bring to our country & remain committed to supporting victims of fraud as we evaluate each case,” which further generated hope among these students that the government will positively revert to the problems being faced by them.
(With inputs from agencies)
