Amid a shocking trend of migrants receiving lenient sentences to sidestep “immigration consequences,” a prominent immigration lawyer is demanding an overhaul of Canada’s immigration system, urging legislators to crack down on rampant fraud and crime.
Earlier this month, an Ontario court gave an Indian international student a
lenient voyeurism sentence to avoid his deportation. The student had been suspended from school for poor grades and was working as a line cook. He was convicted after “peeping” on his female housemates and making recordings in a basement bathroom over six months.
A week after True North’s request for comment, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) responded regarding why a student not attending school could still have a valid study permit. The agency stated that students not attending school must be on leave for 150 days to receive removal orders.
“Study permit holders need to meet a
number of conditionssuch as enrolling at the designated learning institution that is named in their permit, remaining enrolled there until they complete their studies, and actively pursuing their course or program of study,” Luke Reimer, a spokesman for the CBSA, told True North. “If, upon request, they cannot provide evidence of compliance with these conditions or that they meet an exception, they could be reported as inadmissible.”
Reimer added that any leave must be school-approved, and a suspension could qualify. If the student does not change their status or leave Canada after 150 days, they are considered “non-compliant” with their study permit conditions and are subject to deportation.
“Schools recognized as designated learning institutions must report non-compliant students to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In turn, IRCC may refer non-compliant students to the CBSA for potential enforcement action,” Reimer said.
Sergio Karas, an immigration lawyer and writer, believes the IRCC is likely taking the word “may” very seriously and not acting on reports of non-compliant visa holders.
“The problem is that I don’t think IRCC is doing anything with that. (
Globe and Mail) said there are an estimated 47,000 people in Canada with expired study permits,” Karas told True North. “How can we allow people whose permits have expired and they have no way of renewing them to remain in the country at a time when we have a housing crisis, etc.”
Though the actual number of migrants overstaying their work and study visas is unknown, as the CBSA has
refused to release the information.
The IRCC did not respond to True North’s requests for comment.
Karas said that if these non-compliant students are not in school or if their visas have expired while they are still in the country, they are likely working illegally, which drives down wages for Canadian and legal workers.
He said Canada’s immigration system needs serious reform, including regular reviews, enforcement against fraudsters and criminals, and giving more authority to the immigration ministry to deport migrants who breach Canada’s immigration rules.
Karas noted Canada’s Immigration Residency Protection Act has been in effect since 2002 and has “not seen any kind of significant reform since then.” He said Canada should review immigration legislation every 10 years, as society and the country’s economic needs have changed significantly.
In the CBSA’s email to True North, Reimer said that even if an individual was found inadmissible, there are still a “number of recourse mechanisms” available to migrants, such as appealing to the Immigration Appeal Division of the IRCC or a federal court. This could result in them staying in the country until the courts and tribunals have made a decision.
Karas argued there should be a mechanism to bypass tribunals and appeal courts instead of wasting taxpayer money while allowing convicted criminals to stay in the country, sometimes for years. In a previous True North article, Karas noted it has sometimes
taken decades to deport convicted terrorists from Canada.
“If temporary residents commit a criminal offence, they should be subject to immediate deportation, not to lengthy proceedings or anything like that. There should be a way to balance constitutional rights with the interests of society,” Karas said.
He said factors that mitigate sentencing or deportations, such as having a Canadian-born child or being married with other mitigating circumstances, should not be considered for those on temporary visas.
He also advocated for legislators to adopt similar legislation to the U.S.
Immigration Nationality Act, which bars those who overstay their welcome from making an immigration application for three to 10 years, depending on how long they stay. He also recommended applying “administrative monetary penalties” to illegal immigrants, charging them for each day they overstay. If they want to use it again, they would have to pay Canada back.
“The government has to show that enforcement is serious, similar to what it used to be, 20 or 30 years ago. When people know that they’re going to get deported or arrested for an immigration violation, then the word is going to spread that Canada takes things seriously,” Karas said. “Right now, nobody cares, because nobody’s getting arrested.”
truenorthwire.com
