Deportation orders for international students from India scammed by fake admission letters have been paused and will not be deported while a task force will investigate their cases, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser announced Wednesday.
“I understand that this situation is distressing for those affected by unscrupulous actors, and I want to assure them that their well-being is of paramount importance,” Fraser said during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
“I want to make it clear that international students who are not found to be involved in fraud will not face deportation,” Fraser said.
The issue surfaced this past March when the Toronto Star reported that up to 700 international students from India arrived in Canada with allegedly fraudulent post-secondary acceptance letters.
Many of these students were told their initial study permit applications included fake documents when they graduated and applied for work permits or permanent residency. Due to those documents, some are facing deportation orders.
Humber News also reported in March that some Humber College students from India were shocked and outraged that many of their compatriots suffered from immigration fraud.
Hundreds of students have protested for weeks outside Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) in Mississauga, demanding the Canadian government review their cases and cancel their deportation orders.
Naujawan Support Network is one of the advocacy groups that has supported these victims for months and organized numerous protests to seek more attention from Canadians. The group said on Thursday that victims of the alleged fraud finally secured a victory as the government paused the deportations until the investigations were complete.
“After 18 days of protesting day and night in front of the CBSA headquarters in Mississauga, international students have secured an important win,” the group said.
But the network also emphasized that their fight is ongoing because deporting these students after the task force investigation is still possible.
“If that happens, the students and community have vowed to restart the protest and maintain it until the deportations are permanently cancelled,” the group said.
Minister Fraser said the government needs some time to find a solution for the fraud victims but to protect the integrity of the system at the same time. He said the department is strengthening its fraud detection on study permit applications and expects to make further announcements in the coming months.
With files from Barbara Patrocinio and the Toronto Star.