Indian students in Canada hit the streets over deportation fears: Report

Several Indian students in Canada are reportedly staging a protest over deportation fears.

As per an NDTV report, the students hailing mainly from Punjab are claiming that the Canadian authorities have accused them of obtaining their visas through fake admission letters from Canadian varsities and have issued deportation notices.

Over 700 Indian students in Canada have reportedly received deportation letters from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) after the latter discovered that the students' had fraudulent admission letters.

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Many of the protesting students have been residing in Canada since 2018. However, the fraudulent letters were discovered now when they applied for permanent residency, the report added.

"When we arrived in Canada our agent told us that the seats were full in the colleges which we had received admission letters for. He told us that universities were overbooking so he can transfer us to another college. Since we did not want to lose a year, we agreed," a protesting student told NDTV.

Another protesting student alleged that fears of deportation have taken a toll on the mental health of the students. "We request the Indian government to raise this issue with the Canadian government. We are innocent and have been scammed."

Meanwhile, Punjab's NRI Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal termed the fraudulence as one of the biggest immigration scams in recent history. "Students have spent a lot of money to go to Canada. Some families even sold their land to send their children abroad," Dhaliwal said.

Dhaliwal reached out to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar over the issue. In a letter to the EAM, he said: "These students are innocent and have been cheated by the clique of fraudsters. 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."

With Indian students in Canada hitting the streets, the issue has also reached the Canadian parliament where New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if he will stay the deportation of these students.

"Our focus is on identifying the culprits, not penalising the victims," Trudeau said in response. "Victims of this fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate and present evidence for their case. We recognise the immense contributions that the international students bring to our country," he said.

The Punjab government has also sought the intervention of the Centre.