Canada deportation fear: Indian students protest after immigration fraud comes to light

Scores of Indian students who are facing possible deportation by the Canadian authorities following an immigration fraud, are protesting in Canada since last week.

The Indian students, mainly from Punjab, hit the roads near CBSA's office as they alleged they will be deported from the country. Over 700 Indian students are facing deportation from Canada after the authorities in that country found "admission offer letters" to educational institutions to be fake. The matter came to light in March when these students applied for permanent residency in Canada.

For over a week now, students have assembled at Airport Road of Mississauga, outside the head office of the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) for the "indefinite sit-in" since 29 May. These students have gathered at the makeshift location on Airport Road, set up temporary shelter, hoping for a resolution to their collective problem.

According to a report by the Hindustan Times, Livemint's sister publication, the protesting Indian students arrived in Canada between 2017 and 2019 and a few in 2020. CBSA issued notices to these students in 2021 and last year, as the agency concluded the letters of offer of admission to a Canadian higher education institution were "fake".

The students said they were being victimised for no fault of theirs.

The ongoing protest is triggered by a removal order received by Lovepreet Singh, who is originally from Mohali in Punjab. He has been asked by the Canadian Border Services Agency to leave Canada by 13 June.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal sought the intervention of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in this issue. In a letter to Jaishankar, Dhaliwal also sought time to meet him over the issue.

"I have also sought time to meet EAM so that the whole matter can be brought to the attention of the GOI personally," Dhaliwal said.

The Punjab minister has also requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to cooperate with Punjab Government to punish travel agents who cheated the students.

Dhaliwal appealed people of Punjab that before sending their children for studies abroad, remember to check the details of the college and the records of the travel agent.

According to a report by Time of India, over 2.5 lakh students have been migrating each year from Punjab to other countries, mainly Canada in the past few years.