New Delhi, June 8: Hundreds of Indian students in Canada have taken to the streets in protest over the prospect of deportation. Students, largely from Punjab, claim that Canadian officials accused them of acquiring visas based on forged admission letters to Canadian colleges.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has issued deportation notices to 700 Indian students. After CBSA discovered that students’ admission offer letters were false, letters were provided.
Many protesting students claim to have arrived in Canada in 2018, but the forged documents were discovered five years later when they filed for permanent status. “When we arrived in Canada, our agent informed us that the seats in the colleges for which we had received admission letters were all taken.
He informed us that colleges were overcrowded and that he may transfer us to another college. We agreed because we didn’t want to lose a year,” said Chamandeep Singh, a protesting student.
“We changed colleges and completed our studies, but three to four years later, the CBSA informed us that the admission letter on which we had received our visas was fraudulent,” he continued.
Another protesting student, Lovepreet Singh, stated that the student’s mental health has suffered as a consequence of their worries about deportation, with several considering suicide as a result. “We request that the Indian government bring this issue to the attention of the Canadian government. We are completely innocent and have been duped.
Our lives are in jeopardy, and many are suicidal as a result. The true number of impacted pupils is likely to be larger because many are suffering in secret and are unwilling to come forward. I received a deportation notice for June 30th. We risked our entire lives to come to Canada, and now we’re being asked to leave,” Lovepreet explained.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Punjab’s NRI Minister, described the fraud as “one of the biggest immigration scams in recent history.” “Students spend a lot of money to get to Canada. Some families have even sold their land in order to send their children abroad,” Dhaliwal explained.
The Punjab Minister for NRI Affairs has requested the assistance of External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.
“These (700) students are innocent and have been duped by a gang of con artists. I would be grateful if you could look into the matter again personally and raise it with concerned agencies, including the High Commission of Canada and the Canadian government, so that these students can be saved from deportation,” Dhaliwal writes in a letter to Jaishankar.
As the students maintained their public demonstrations, the matter reached the Canadian parliament, where New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whether he would postpone the students’ deportation.
‘Our focus is on discovering the perpetrators, not punishing the victims,’ Prime Minister Trudeau responded. “Victims of this fraud will be able to demonstrate and present evidence in support of their claims. We acknowledge the enormous contributions that overseas students make to our country,” he added. The Punjab government has also requested that the Centre intervene in the case.
