The lives of 700-odd Indian students, studying in Canada, were turned upside down in March this year after they received deportation notices from the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA).
The students were informed that their ‘admission offer letter’ to a prominent educational institute in Toronto, namely Humber College, was fake. Some of them had completed their 12th exam a year earlier while others were closer to finishing their diplomas and degrees. The majority of the students are from Punjab.
Many of them were hoping to get permanent residence (PR) in Canada but in vain. All these students had one thing in common – they had applied for study visas through an agent named Brijesh Mishra in Jalandhar city of Punjab.
Mishra ran a consultancy firm named ‘M/S Education and Migration Services’ in Jalandhar alongside one Rahul Bhargava, now arrested for fraud. He started the company in 2014 under the Punjab Travel and Professional Regulation Act.
Lovepreet Singh, a victim of fraud, is set to be deported in 5 days.
— Brad Redekopp (@BradRedekopp) June 8, 2023
That’s 1 day before the Immigration Committee will even begin our study.@marcomendicino @SeanFraserMP Stop blaming the victim & fix this problem!#standforstudents pic.twitter.com/bXrbF5SBep
A resident of Bihar, Brijesh Mishra was arrested in 2013 for sending students abroad on forged documents. At that time, he used to run a company named ‘Easyway Immigration Consultancy Services’ along with Rahul Bhargava. Back then, police raided his office and recovered cash and passports.
Mishra is currently on the run from the law enforcement authorities. But the career of 700-odd Indian students still hangs in the balance. As per reports, they have paid a whopping ₹16 lakhs to Mishra who promised to facilitate their admission to Humber College.
Besides, they also shelled out extra cash for air tickets and security fees. The affected students filed their applications with the agent between 2018 and 2022. According to the police, Brijesh Mishra also took the franchise of another Delhi-based consultancy firm for facilitating student visas for Canada.
He would generate ‘fake admission offer letters’ for the students and fake fee deposit receipts from Humber College. Using these two, the accused would help his victims secure study visas from the Canadian embassy.
We recognize the immense contributions international students bring to our country & remain committed to supporting victims of fraud as we evaluate each case.
— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) May 26, 2023
We’re also working closely with institutions to verify acceptance letters are valid at the time of application.
After the students would arrive in Canada and learn that Humber College had made no such admission offer letter, Brijesh Mishra would tell them that their admission had been cancelled.
He would ask them to secure admission to other colleges and return the college fee, after deducting a commission fee of ₹5-6 lakhs per student. The accused did this to avoid raising any suspicion.
The scam was unearthed after some students, who had completed their diplomas/degrees, applied for permanent Residency. After scrutinising the initial offers letters of Humber College along with the study visas, the Canadian authorities were able to unearth anomalies in the case of 700 Indian students from Punjab.
On May 26 this year, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser assured, “Our focus is on identifying culprits, not penalizing victims. Victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situation & present evidence to support their case.”
4./ Solidarity walk and chants from @MWACCanada #StatusForAll #StopTheDeportations pic.twitter.com/TQN4Xoi1Qe
— Amardeep Kaur (@amardeepkaurPhD) June 1, 2023
Given that the Canadian government has so far not withdrawn the deportation notices, the affected students launched a protest on May 29 outside the head office of the Canadian Border Security Agency in Mississauga. Similar demonstrations are being carried out in Ontario.
An Indian student by the name of Lovepreet Singh is set to be deported on June 13, 2023. Some students are fighting it out in Canadian courts while others are awaiting their fate.
One student named Balbir Singh said, “We are victims, not culprits. A protest has been going on in Toronto for the last 10 days. Students are spending 24 hours there without any shelter, seeking justice.”
“Students paid 40000 thousand dollars in fees and have been paying taxes for the last five years, now they are paying lawyers thousands of dollars. Can the Canadian authorities give these students half a decade and their money back?” another student asked.
Innocent victims will be given every opportunity to have their case considered fairly. Due to the complexity of the situation, we remain committed to working with CBSA to determine a fair outcome.
— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) June 7, 2023
On June 8, Sean Fraser tweeted, “We are actively pursuing a solution for intl students who are facing uncertainty due to having been admitted to Canada with fraudulent college admission letters. Those who have taken advantage of people genuinely hoping to study here will face consequences for their actions.”
He added, “Innocent victims will be given every opportunity to have their case considered fairly. Due to the complexity of the situation, we remain committed to working with CBSA to determine a fair outcome.”
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party-led- Punjab government is not shying away from appearing ‘all concerned’, even vowing to provide free legal aid to the 700 students facing deportation from Canada.
Kuldeep Dhaliwal, Punjab NRI Affairs Minister, announced that the affected students will be assisted by lawyers who are experts in Canadian immigration laws. He also wrote to Punjabi-origin Canadian MPs to help resolve the issues of the students.
कनाडा में 700 पंजाब के बच्चों के साथ इमग्रेशन प्रतिनिधि के द्वारा धोखे के मामले में मदद के लिए भगवंत मान सरकार पूरी कोशिश कर रही है इसके लिए भारत के विदेश मंत्री श्री @DrSJaishankar जी को मैंने पत्र और ईमेल के माध्यम से कनाडा सरकार से बात करने की अपील भी की है. #indianstudents… pic.twitter.com/1KH4KFb2Xb
— Kuldeep Dhaliwal (@KuldeepSinghAAP) June 6, 2023
While it is evident that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is going to take up the matter at a diplomatic level, Dhaliwal attempted to create a spectacle on Twitter about writing to EAM S Jaishankar and seeking immediate intervention.
“I shall be highly grateful if you again look into the matter personally and take up the matter with concerned agencies including the High Commission of Canada and the government of Canada so that these students can be saved from being deported,” he wrote.
Dhaliwal demanded that the “Students shouldn’t be deported & given work permits considering their VISAs”.
Minister @KuldeepSinghAAP's letter to MEA @DrSJaishankar
— AAP Punjab (@AAPPunjab) June 7, 2023
👉Urged to resolve the issue of 700 Indian students trapped in Canada due to immigration fraud
"Students shouldn't be deported & given work permits considering their VISAs"
—@KuldeepSinghAAP
NRI Affairs Minister, Punjab pic.twitter.com/xUcCQdHbFQ
Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar requesting him to intervene in the matter. She said while 700 students had faced action on the same ground earlier, now it had come to light that 200 more students had been served deportation orders by the Canadian Border Services Agency after scrutiny of their papers.
Given that the Modi government has helped rescue Indians under extremely difficult circumstances, as evident in Operation Ganga, Operation Shakti and Operation Kaveri, it is obvious that it is trying to resolve the matter through appropriate diplomatic channels.
However, desperate for political clout, the AAP is exploiting an issue affecting Indian students in Canada.
