Former students launch indefinite protest in Canada as deportation threat looms

Amid a growing threat of deportation, several former international students have launched a protest in Canada. The indefinite demonstration began in the in the Greater Toronto Area this week and is slated to continue till the deportation process is stopped. These students had predominantly arrived in Canada between 2017 and 2019 for higher education. They were later informed that their admission offer letters (which formed the basis for their visas and study permits) was ‘fake’.

More than 700 Indian students are now facing an exit from Canada. They had been served deportation letters by the Canadian Border Security Agency earlier this year. The fraud first came to light when these students applied for permanent residency in Canada and their documents were scrutinised.

As per a Hindustan Times report, the former students have now gathered at a makeshift site on Airport Road in Mississauga. They set up a temporary shelter in the region as the protest was launched on Monday. The agitation was reportedly triggered by a removal order received by Lovepreet Singh. The student hailing from Mohali in Punjab has been asked to leave the country by June 13.

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“We will continue protesting till Lovepreet’s deportation on June 13 is cancelled and a solution is found to our cases,” fellow protester Inder Singh told the publication. 

The former students have also planned a large protest march in front of the adjacent CBSA office on Friday.

Most of the affected students had been represented by Brijesh Mishra - an agent with the Jalandhar-based counselling firm EMSA Education and Migration Services Australia. In mid-March this year the police said that they had located the office of the travel agent who allegedly issued fake documents to more than 700 students. Officials however said that the site had remained closed for six months.