CBSA crackdown flags 12 people at Calgary foreign student protest

CALGARY — The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has confirmed officers visited a weeks-long demonstration held by international students in Calgary and identified 12 people as possibly inadmissible to Canada after conducting immigration-status checks.On Wednesday, officers attended the demonstration, which involved hundreds of predominantly Indian graduates of programs offered by Portage College and the Canadian Institute of Osteopathic Therapy near Saddletown Circle NE, after the Calgary Police Service (CPS) requested status checks on four people attending the protest.“Upon confirmation that two of those individuals were without status, CBSA officers attended Saddletown Circle NE and exercised their authorities by conducting status checks to identify additional persons of potential interest for non-compliance under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA),” CBSA senior spokesperson Rebecca Purdy told the Western Standard.“In this instance, approximately 30 individuals had their status verified, with 12 individuals identified as being possibly inadmissible under IRPA. The individuals were provided with notices to appear for admissibility hearings.”.No arrests have been reported, and videos of the incident have since gone viral on social media, showing CBSA officers, along with CPS members, speaking with protesters who are demanding that Ottawa reconsider rejected applications for post-graduation work permits.Organizers of the protest have said approximately 1,000 students have been affected, with some protesters launching a hunger strike.The students say they paid tens of thousands of dollars in tuition after being led to believe their programs would qualify them for post-graduation work permits and provide a potential pathway to permanent residency.However, after completing their studies, many had their work-permit applications rejected.Some have since reached the end of their authorized stay in Canada and are now demanding a federal review of the rejected applications.The incident comes after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted a statement on social media on Wednesday, defending the enforcement of Canada’s immigration rules..“A student visa is a temporary document to study in Canada. That was always understood,” Smith said.“Our universities and colleges were built by Alberta taxpayers, first and foremost for Alberta students. Where there is room for international students, the terms are simple. Earn your education, then return home to build a life with it. Rules are what make a fair system fair, and our country needs to return to an immigration process that respects the rules.”CBSA said the notices issued Wednesday do not automatically constitute removal orders and that anyone ordered to be removed from the country has access to due process.“All individuals who are subject to enforcement action and ordered to be removed from Canada have access to due process before the law,” Purdy said.“They may seek redress through various processes at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (appeals) and the Federal Court of Canada (judicial review).”

CBSA crackdown flags 12 people at Calgary foreign student protest

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