Wise Law Blog: Wise Law Roundtable: The Group of 700: “Fake” College Admission Letters, Deportation Orders and Judicial Stays

Friday, August 04, 2023

Wise Law Roundtable: The Group of 700: “Fake” College Admission Letters, Deportation Orders and Judicial Stays

This edition of Wise Law’s Roundtable features contributions from Wise Law associate lawyer, Somya Grover, and students-at-law, Vaibhav Wali and Satyma Mongia.

Vaibhav Wali: Welcome to this edition of Wise Law's roundtable. I’ll begin with a bit of background.

On June 11, 2023, the Canadian government decided to suspend deportation of 700 Indian students who had been previously directed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to leave the country by June. Authorities had found that phony college admission letters had been submitted for these students and were relied upon when the students applied to enter Canada on study permits.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser promised a “fair outcome” for the students who had been victims of unscrupulous immigration consultants who allegedly arranged for these fraudulent Letters of Admissions.

Most of these students came into Canada around 2017-19. Students are facing deportation threats under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and are now facing consequences for the frauds allegedly committed by their visa agents.

The 700 Indian students facing deportation threats completed their degree courses from institutions other than those mentioned on their admission letters. The students were unaware of the fake offer letters until they began applying for their Permanent Residency in Canada. Investigations have alleged that the false admission letters were issued by Jalandhar-based Education Migration Services, run by Brijesh Mishra.

On June 24, 2023, the CBSA arrested Brijesh Mishra when he was trying to enter into Canada. Indian authorities had already issued a lookout circular (LOC) following the registration of an FIR against him in Jalandhar on March 17, 2023.

The CBSA has framed charges against him for offering immigration advice without a license and counselling a person to directly or indirectly misrepresent or withhold information from authorities.

For more background see:

Somya Grover: First and foremost, I think that it is important to ensure that all immigration laws and rules are followed and if fraud or dishonesty are detected in any case, it should be punished.

However, in this particular case, the Canadian Government should be vigilant in distinguishing between the perpetrator and the victims. The students were reportedly issued letters that they believed to be genuine.

It falls to the Canadian government agencies to conduct a robust and fair investigation into how this fraud took place and who is responsible for it.

The lives and futures of 700 students are now at stake and they should not pay a price so steep that it may destroy their futures. Many of these students invested in their new lives in Canada and are at different stages of establishing themselves here.

In today’s world, people from third world countries who are looking for better lives and opportunities dream of immigrating to countries such as Canada.

However, this process can involve manipulation, fraud, and dishonesty by unscrupulous and greedy organizations and people who attempt to sidestep the legal demands of the immigration system of the host countries.

These students should not pay so severe a penalty as deportation for the blatant crimes of others.

Satyma Mongia: Education is a lucrative export, piggybacking an array of expenses for necessities including textbooks, housing, and food. Many of these students are still indebted to their families for hundreds of thousands of dollars for facilitating their migration.

While Canada’s political leaders have vowed to ensure those who genuinely did not have knowledge of fraudulent letters will be allowed to remain in Canada, much of mainstream media, the legal system, and other members of Canada’s civil society quickly reduced a very culturally complex issue into a narrative that ultimately serves to criminalize these students.

“#Deportation,” “#IndianStudents” “#FakeLetters” – using these hashtags, the matter quickly mutated into a racialized rhetoric of community blaming, reverberating in the countless comments discussing the matter on Instagram and other social media.

Many of the comments reflected India’s long-established community divisions, defined by diverse regionalisms, ethnicities, religious and linguistic lines. As most of the Indian students are from the state of Punjab, many non-Punjabi users were quick to launch ethno-religious attacks against these apparent anti-nationals, all of whom were indiscriminately grouped as “Khalistani”- a political separatist movement advocating for an autonomous Punjab.

While one user segregated them as being “Punjabi students, not Indian students,” and proclaimed that “they will overtake Canada with their militant agenda,” another user opined that only Punjabi students can be complicit in such a scheme, because “other states students [do not use] fake documents.”

These various comments also exposed the darker side of our national dialogue about immigration and multiculturalism, with comments surfacing such as “send them home and make Canada great again.”

Vaibhav Wali: As much as it’s the student’s legal duty to have their due diligence in place and to verify whether the immigration agent helping them on an application is an ethical and licensed registered practitioner, the CBSA also has a duty to verify the documents submitted when the students are entering Canada the first time.

If CBSA had been able to catch this conduct at the first instance, the futures of these innocent students wouldn’t be at stake, and they would not be identified as students entering Canada with “fake college admission letters.”

Time and again, innocent people are being manipulated in our immigration system into doing things illegally or doing illegal things without their knowledge or consent.

Regardless, every action has a consequence, and people seeking to immigrate to Canada must take responsibility to be more vigilant on issues that involve such life-changing decisions.

Satyma Mongia: Justice Ann Marie McDonald’s initial ruling in this matter was very disappointing.

She dismissed Karamjeet Kaur’s application for judicial review of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada’s decision to deport her. Justice McDonald’s held that “these circumstances do not absolve [her] from the consequences of her misrepresentation,” despite acknowledging that Karamjeet was indeed deceived.

On May 28, 2023, Justice Alan Diner approved a motion to stay Karamjeet’s removal order, pending a final decision in another judicial review of the Canadian Board Services Agency’s decision not to defer the deportation.

In my view, it is unrealistic to expect many of these victims to make due diligence inquiries about a complex immigration system in which they have absolutely no experience or knowledge. Many of them come from low-income families who have mortgaged their farmland in order to facilitate the migration, and have limited access to resources and technology that would allow such due diligence.

Yet, the stigma of being criminals will linger for this group of 700, perhaps permanently for some.

Somya Grover: This case has again exposed a deeply flawed immigration system, rife with manipulation and exploitation, that warrants an overdue, critical re-examination.

Education and awareness about the immigration process and work permit laws need to be communicated far more clearly to those overseas who are looking to immigrate. Greater resources and increased effort must be invested in making prospective immigrants aware of Canada’s immigration laws and the penalties for breaking them.

However, this complex issue goes far beyond enforcing rules; since we are dealing with human beings, fairness must be tempered with empathy.

- Wise Law Office, Toronto