CIMM – Letter to Committee on the Task Force's progress for Genuine Students Impacted By Fraud – February 28, 2024

Deputy Minister

Ottawa K1A 1L1

Sukh Dhaliwal, M.P
Chairperson
Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
CIMM@parl.gc.ca

Dear Chair:

We would like to thank the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (the committee) for your ongoing work on behalf of all Canadians.

In June 2023, then Minister Fraser instructed Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to form a Task Force in response to the concerns of fraud impacting international students. These concerns led to committee hearings on June 14, 2023, June 19, 2023, and June 21, 2023, on the “exploitation scheme targeting certain international students”. We are writing to you today to provide you with an update regarding the work undertaken by the Task Force.

As you are aware, Committee Members strongly supported efforts to assist genuine students who have been impacted by fraud. The Department devotes significant resources to combating immigration fraud to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable clients, while maintaining the integrity and credibility of Canada’s immigration system. We are committed to achieving these goals while approaching each case with the flexibility and compassion it requires. IRCC recognizes that some unscrupulous actors have harmed genuine students who were unknowingly involved in their fraudulent activities.

The Task Force undertook an individualized, case-by case review of the circumstances of students linked to specific investigations identified by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The Task Force assessed if those who may have been duped and who were issued deportation orders or have been removed from Canada were genuine students.

In committee, IRCC and the CBSA shared that there were some 309 cases linked to specific investigations involving concerns of misrepresentation and unscrupulous actors. An in depth review of the files removed duplicates and reduced this figure to 285. The 285 cases were grouped in order for the Task Force to prioritize the cases for action.

We are pleased to report that as a result of the ongoing work of the Task Force, 108 of the 285 individuals have had their cases reviewed by the Task Force as of October 12, 2023. This includes 53 individuals who were subject to a removal order. 6 cases, including 5 recently added cases with newly issued orders from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) are still with the task force for review. Of the remaining balance of 177 cases, they have not yet had their admissibility hearing with the IRB, or there may be no further enforcement action. Should these cases result in inadmissibility findings at the IRB, proactive measures are in place so that genuine students will benefit from the consideration of the Task Force. Until such time as the IRB has issued a removal order, students continue to hold valid status in Canada and have access to work and studies.

The Task Force has determined that 29 individuals subject to a removal order were genuine students. These genuine students have been authorized three year Temporary Resident Permits, in addition to study and work authorizations. Our intent is to ensure that genuine students and graduates can remain in Canada. As they continue their journey in Canada, if they apply for permanent residence, the Ministry has put in place measures to proactively apply humanitarian and compassionate grounds to overcome inadmissibility. All other eligibility requirements must be met, and the person must not be the subject of any new inadmissibility concerns.

For the individuals who have been returned to the CBSA enforcement stream, they will be advised of the decision of the Task Force and offered an opportunity to present any additional information on their studies in Canada for consideration. Should new information be presented, it will be considered by the Task Force.

As cases continue to be actively investigated or undergo proceedings at the IRB, the Task Force will continue its work, and will continue to assess every individual case with the same expediency, flexibility and compassion.

We would like to share with you some of the different circumstances that led the Task Force to assess some cases as non-genuine students, and to return them to the enforcement stream:

• The individual is linked to ongoing criminal charges, including assault, robbery, or the distribution of illicit substances, or a combination thereof.
• The individual’s study progression is stagnant or illogical. For example, some individuals have claimed to have studied for short durations at multiple different schools without logical academic progression from one to the next.
• The individual has admitted to being complicit with unscrupulous actors to obtain fraudulent documents in order to enter Canada.
• The individual acknowledged knowingly working with human smugglers to attempt to enter other jurisdictions, prior to using a study permit to travel to Canada to claim asylum.
• The misrepresentation concerns are associated with multiple supporting documents, such as language testing scores found to be obtained through imposters, in addition to the fraudulent letter of acceptance.
• The misrepresentation is associated to the individual’s desire to remain in Canada, and not to come to Canada to study for the first time. The individuals often provide minimal supporting documents to show that they were studying during their time in Canada, they fail to respond to requests to provide additional supporting documents, or the supporting documents are fraudulent.

Finally, we would like to inform the Committee that in parallel to the Task Force’s activities, on June 23, 2023, the CBSA announced that charges had been laid against Brijesh Mishra for immigration-related offences. Mr. Mishra is a citizen of India who was identified by victims and the media as one of the central figures involved in defrauding students. Unfortunately, Mr. Mishra is only one of the many hidden agents or representatives that were identified in the cases that the Task Force reviewed. This only stresses the extent of the work and collaboration continuously needed to tackle fraud. IRCC will continue to work diligently with the CBSA to identify and act against unscrupulous actors who take advantage of genuine students.

We appreciate the support the committee and its members have provided, and look forward to their response on the work the Task Force has accomplished, as outlined in this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Christiane Fox
IRCC Deputy Minister

Erin O’Gorman
CBSA President

Annexes:
Annex A: Report on Progress and Outcomes