Students got deportation notices from Canada last year, kept mum fearing social stigma

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 17

Indian students, mostly from Punjab, facing deportation from Canada have brought their cases to the media after almost a year of silence. They had received notices from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in April and May, 2022.

Legal experts cite different reasons

Legal experts in Canada have revealed that it is not necessary that the students got deportation notices owing to fake documents. The reason could also be illegally working for more hours than allowed to students during study visas. Besides, some students were also doing jobs in the US, which was not allowed during their study permit.

FUTURE IN DOLDRUMS

If the government doesn’t intervene, deportation will have serious consequences on our future. Karamjeet Kaur, Student

According to the students, they held a protest and reached out to local news channels based in Canada when they first received the notices, but no one showed interest in covering their story as the matter was already before the courts.

In addition, they say that there is a social stigma attached to deportation, which can lead people to believe that they have migrated to the country illegally. As a result, many of their parents were hesitant to approach the police for help.

“We have now decided to speak out in the hope that our cases will receive more attention. Besides, with the intervention of the government, there are chances that the Canadian authorities could be held equally accountable as they too failed to check the authenticity of the ‘acceptance letters’ when they applied for study permits and their future could be saved,” said Inderjit Singh, a student.

He said almost every student facing deportation had spent nearly $13,000 to $15,000 in fighting the legal battle, but still the court was not accepting their pleas. “If the government doesn’t intervene, the deportation will have serious consequences on our future,” said Karamjeet Kaur, a native of Faridkot, who had received the orders to leave the country.

Karamjeet said she first received the notice in April 2021 when she applied for her PR, however, she had now lost the legal battle in both lower and higher courts. “I applied for the visa through two agents of Jaito in Faridkot, who further contacted Brijesh Mishra for my case. My father had filed an FIR against Khushdeep Singh, Balwinder Singh and Brijesh Mishra in Jaito, but the police failed to take any action in the case,” she alleged.

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