What's their fault, ask parents of students facing deportation, blame shady agents

Lovepreet Singh’s parents are still in disbelief that their son who had left for Canada six years ago on study visa is now under threat of deportation after his education papers were found to be fake, and keep wondering what’s their son’s fault.

Lovepreet Singh is one of the 700 students from India, most of whom are from Punjab, who are facing deportation from Canada after their “admission offer letters” were found to be fake. Lovepreet is scheduled to be deported from Canada on June 13, his family said.

The matter came to light in March when these students, after finishing their studies, applied for permanent residency in Canada and the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) found their documents fake. Families in Punjab blamed education consultants for duping them with fake admission letters. Most of the 700 students had gone to Canada between 2017 and 2018.

Also read: Punjab to provide free legal aid to 700 Indian students facing deportation from Canada

‘Invested life savings’

“Lovepreet moved to Canada in 2017 after completing his mechanical engineering. He is good in studies. What’s his fault,” asked a teary eyed Sarabjit Kaur, Lovepreet’s mother, from Chatamli village in Punjab’s Rupnagar district. “We want him to stay there. We have invested our life savings on sending Lovepreet abroad,” she said.

Sarabjit Kaur has filed a police complaint against the consultant through which Loverpreet had gone to Canada. Lovepreet, among other students, has been camping outside the building of CBSA in Mississauga in Canada in protest against the deportation orders.

Ferozepur-based parents of Amritpal Singh were equally worried over the fate of their son who is also facing deportation. Amritpal’s father Gurdev Singh said his son had gone to Canada in 2018 after completing Class 12. He studied at a college for two years in Canada and later worked there. “When he applied for permanent residency, we came to know that his admission letter was fake,” said Gurdev Singh, a farmer from Peer Mohammad village in Ferozepur district.

Gurdev Singh said he and his son were completely dejected after they learnt about the fraud and the imminent deportation. He has lodged a police complaint against Jalandhar-based consultant Brajesh Mishra allegedly for duping his son and several other students. Gurdev Singh said though he never met Mishra, another person in his office kept giving him assurances that everything will be all right and he believed him.

Also read: Indian students protest in Canada after deportation threat over admission fraud

Canadian PM offers hope

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday gave students the hope that all is not lost, when he said his government was focused on identifying “the culprits, not penalising the victims”. “We are deeply aware of cases of international students facing removal orders over fraudulent college acceptance letters,” Trudeau said in Canada. “Victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situations and present evidence to support their cases,” he added.

A Canadian parliamentary committee has voted unanimously to urge the border services agency to stop the deportation of nearly 700 Indian students who were duped by unscrupulous education consultants in India.

Back in Punjab, Punjab NRI Affairs minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the state government will provide free legal assistance to the Indian students facing deportation. Dhaliwal has also written to all MPs of Punjab origin in Canada to help students tide over the deportation trouble, and sought intervention of Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in this matter.

Jaishankar earlier said India has taken up the issue with Canadian authorities. “If there were people who misled them, the culpable parties should be acted upon. It is unfair to punish a student who undertook education in good faith,” he said in Delhi.

(With agency inputs)