internationalstudents

Voice: CBSA: Criminal charges against Brijesh Mishra for fake admission letters to Indian students

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on Friday announced that charges have been laid against Brijesh Mishra, a citizen of India, for immigration-related offences.

He has been accused of providing fake college admission letters to hundreds of students from the Indian state of Punjab to enter Canada. The letters were found to be fake only last year when students, who were unaware that they had been duped, started applying for permanent residency.

Following information provided to the CBSA concerning Mishra’s status in Canada, as well his alleged involvement in activities related to counseling misrepresentation, CBSA launched an investigation.
Mishra tried to enter Canada and was found to be inadmissible by the CBSA. He was arrested and remained in custody until he was charged.

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?

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?”

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?

CIMM#70 - 3: Debating Bill S-245 and Motion on International Students

"I, too, would like to thank the staff, particularly for their patience and endurance with this bill.

Now I'd like to move two motions, Madam Chair. I will move them one by one. I'll let the first one be dealt with first, and then when we've finished with that, if you can come to back to me, Madam Chair, I'll move my second motion.

My first motion is:

That, following news reports that international students admitted into Canada with valid study permits were issued fraudulent college acceptance letters by immigration consultants, and are now facing deportation, the committee issue a news release to condemn the actions of these fraudulent “ghost consultants” and call on the Canada Border Services Agency to immediately stay pending deportations of affected international students, waive inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation and provide an alternate pathway to permanent status for those impacted, such as the humanitarian and compassionate application process or a broad regularization program.

Madam Chair, I'd like to move this motion first. I think it is important that this motion be adopted by the committee.

As mentioned previously, this is an issue that I wrote to the minister about, long before this matter became a topic for this committee. I called for him to take action in raising the concerns of how these students have been victims of this fraudulent scheme. The measures we need the government to take are staying the deportations; waiving inadmissibility based on misrepresentation by the fraudulent, ghost consultants in submitting doctored admissions letters, unbeknownst to the students; and then, finally, giving the students a permit pathway.

As we know, when students are faced with the issue of inadmissibility, it stays on their record for five years. That applies to all immigration pathways, so this is very significant to their future.

These students—I've met with many of them now—are in such a terrible state. They've lost money, and they are stuck in a terrible situation. Some of them have deportation orders. Others have pending meetings with the CBSA.”

CIM#70 - 1: Debating Bill S-245 and Motion on International Students

"Before we get into Bill S-245, I would like to first put on notice the following motion:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study into the targeted exploitation scheme faced by 700 Punjabi international students in which they were unknowingly defrauded by a “ghost” immigration consultant who used inauthentic admission letters for their student visa application; that this study be comprised of two meetings; and that the study consider:

a) how the situation was allowed to happen;

b) why fraudulent documents were not detected until years later when the students began to apply for permanent status;

c) the significant harm experienced by students including financial loss and distress;

d) measures necessary to help the students to have their deportation stayed, inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation waived, and provide a pathway to permanent status; and

e) that the committee also examine how to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.

I'm putting this motion on notice, Madam Chair. I fully understand the precedence of the order is for us to finish Bill S-245, for bills to be dealt with. Then we can entertain other studies, so I've put that forward.

The other thing I want to note, Madam Chair, is that, at the end of the meeting today, I would like to move the following motion. The language is as follows—“

"Yes, I just want to let folks know so that they can anticipate this.

The motion would read:

That, following news reports that international students admitted into Canada with valid study permits were issued fraudulent college acceptance letters by immigration consultants, and are now facing deportation, the committee issue a news release to condemn the actions of these fraudulent 'ghost consultants' and call on the Canada Border Services Agency to immediately stay pending deportations of affected international students, waive inadmissibility on the basis of misrepresentation and provide an alternate pathway to permanent status for those impacted, such as the Humanitarian and Compassionate application process or a broad regularization program.

I just want to let people know that it is my intention to move that motion at the end of the meeting today, assuming we can finish Bill S-245.”