Immigration

LINK: Canada halts imminent deportation of international students, but with a clause

NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Jenny Kwan who has been supporting international students welcomed the news but said Fraser failed to say if he’ll waive inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation or grant a pathway to permanent status for the students as called for systematically by the NDP. New Democrats urge the Minister on act on those quickly.

“While the task force evaluates these cases, the government must also ensure that these students will be able to continue to work or study in Canada—otherwise they cannot survive. If they don’t have an Open work permit or study permit, they cannot afford rent or food. And these students have already invested everything they had to come study in Canada. The Minister must urgently act to ensure they are supported,” she said. 

OPEN LETTER: Urging Immigration Minister to exercise discretion and have inadmisibility waived under section 25.2

As Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, you also have the authority to exercise discretion and have inadmissibility waived to a broader class of individuals through a temporary public policy, under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act. Once the task force has completed their important work, I urge that you use this authority to assist victims of fraud by having their inadmissibility waived.

I have continuously called on the government to waive inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation for these students who have been exploited by bad actors. As you know, students deemed to be inadmissible are subject to a 5-year ban from entering Canada. The international students have already suffered enough. Some have sold everything they own to pay tuition to complete their education and to hire lawyers. This is wrong and you have the authority to act.

I also continue to urge that you provide an alternate pathway to permanent residency to allow the students to remain in Canada.

I remain willing to work with you on this important matter so that we can find a solution for all impacted students and prevent further suffering.

HANSARD: On the international students who were victims of unscrupulous immigration agents, will the minister ensure an alternate permanent residence pathway to the victims of fraud?

Media Release: NDP reacts to announcement regarding defrauded International Students

However, the minister failed to say if he’ll waive inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation or grant a pathway to permanent status for the students as called for systematically by the NDP. New Democrats urge the Minister on act on those quickly.

While the task force evaluates these cases, the government must also ensure that these students will be able to continue to work or study in Canada—otherwise they cannot survive. If they don’t have an Open work permit or study permit, they cannot afford rent or food. And these students have already invested everything they had to come study in Canada. The Minister must urgently act to ensure they are supported.

We cannot ignore the impactful and strong advocacy by the community and the students themselves calling on the Liberal government to take action. It is admirable to see mothers from the South Asian community looking after international students as their own children. A sense of compassion and action from the community makes a big difference in the lives of these students away from their own families.

These students can count on me and the NDP to continue to advocate for them.”

Voice: International students who are genuine victims of fraud will not be deported; others will be: Immigration Minister

Last Monday, Fraser in response to a query by NDP’s Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Jenny Kwan, had reiterated in Parliament that the 700 Indian students, mainly from the state of Punjab, “will have an opportunity to remain in Canada.”

Kwan, who has taken up the students’ case in a very forceful way, said in Parliament: “International students who have been defrauded by crooked consultants should not be punished with deportation and inadmissibility based on misrepresentation. They have invested everything they have for a better future. They work hard, they study hard and under very difficult conditions. They are under enormous strain and their lives are in limbo. The Liberals can eliminate this uncertainty by allowing them to stay in Canada and build the lives of their dreams.”

CIMM#71: Exploitation Scheme Targeting Certain International Students

"With respect to the announcement that the minister made, I'd like to get a clarification on the issue around the inadmissibility based on misrepresentation. The minister said just now that the students who are victims would not be subjected to the five-year ban. Could the minister clarify whether that would mean the record of inadmissibility based on misrepresentation will be erased from their file?”

"Okay. I hope that when it comes to that, it would actually work that way for those students. What I'm worried about is that when you have that bad record, so to speak, that dark mark next to your name, sometimes an official who's processing the application will still say that there's misrepresentation on the record. I want to flag that as a concern, because we obviously would not want to have a second chapter to this issue down the road.

Now, there are students who are in a situation where they have been issued a removal order and they have filed to the Federal Court but, for example, have not yet had the hearing. They are waiting. There are those who have filed and who have been rejected, for example. There are those who have made an application to have their work permit extended, let's say, and they're now out of status but waiting to see what's going to happen to them.

Is the minister saying that with this new task force, those individuals should not worry about all of those outcomes and that their case will be assessed under the new task force?”

HANSARD: Bill S-8 Immigration and Refugee Act debate and comment on Conservatives’ political tricks

B.C. man among scores of international students facing deportation in suspected immigration scam

Recently, the NDP MP for Vancouver East, Jenny Kwan, moved a motion at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration calling for deportations to be stayed, inadmissibility to be waived, and the affected students worked with to move them toward permanent residency.  "We need to do everything we can for the genuine victims of this fraud scam for them to be made whole," said Kwan.

A second motion has called on the government to conduct a study on how this scam occurred and how the government and the CBSA failed to catch the fraudulent documents when they were first submitted as part of the visa application process.

During house debates on Monday, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said his team is working to develop a process to allow legitimate victims of fraud to stay in Canada.
"However, to the extent that people committed fraud or were complicit in a fraudulent scheme, they will bear the consequences of not following Canadian laws," he said.

HANSARD: Will the minister grant these international students a pathway to permanent residency?

CBC: He came to Canada with a college acceptance in hand. Next week, he's scheduled for deportation

Jenny Kwan, the NDP's federal critic for Housing, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, has taken up Singh's case. Kwan says she believes he was a victim of fraud and says the number of students she's heard from who were impacted by similar practices is growing – though she did not provide the exact number of students she's spoken to.

On Wednesday night, the federal committee on immigration passed a motion calling for pending deportations to be stayed, according to a tweet Kwan posted. The committee will also begin a study into "the targeted exploitation scheme faced by 700 Punjabi international students," the motion reads.

Next, the committee will invite Sean Fraser, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Marco Mendicino, the Minister of Public Safety of Canada, as well as departmental officials, to attend the committee and provide a briefing on the situation, Kwan said. Then the committee will make recommendations to the government.

"It is so unbelievable that you have these unscrupulous immigration consultants taking advantage of people," Kwan said in an interview with CBC Toronto.

"Not only taking their money and not delivering what they said they would, but also destroying peoples lives and dreams."