Deportation: Students write to Trudeau

Tribune News Service

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, March 18

Indian students who migrated to Canada between 2017 and 2019 are at the risk of facing deportation as it has been found that their acceptance letters to Canadian colleges were fake. Despite fighting legal battles to clear their names, they feel that their chances of success are slim. As a result, they have now written a letter addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, as well as to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Punjab Government, to seek their assistance.

Under stress

• Students say they are under stress and getting suicidal thoughts as their parents have invested all their savings
• “After paying bills, rent and other expenses, we are hardly left with enough money to pay lawyers,” said students

The students claimed that they were victims of a fraud by Brijesh Mishra, an agent at the immigration firm based in Jalandhar. They said Mishra allegedly provided them with offer letters and submitted their visa applications.

They claimed that many of them were not aware of the college timetable or registration process and relied on Mishra for guidance.

“While some students successfully completed their programmes in private or public colleges and received study permit extensions or post-graduate work permits, in 2021 and 2022, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) notified the students that their admission letters were fake and scheduled interviews under Section 44A,” reads the letter.

It says that despite their explanations, evidence during the interviews and subsequent immigration hearings, they have been charged and issued exclusion orders with a five-year ban, leaving them with no options and causing emotional distress.

“We question the liability of the Canadian government and wonder why they were issued visas and permits if their documents were not verified at the time of their arrival,” the students said in the letter.

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