Holes in the immigration system could be exploited in an investigation by Indian authorities that claims dozens of Canadian universities may be involved in a scheme to illegally transport students across the Canada-U.S. border has been found to be in an “alarming” range, some experts say.
“If true, this allegation reveals shocking flaws in our integrity code,” Calgary-based immigration lawyer Raj Sharma told CBC News Network. “It’s very concerning and troubling,” he told CBC News Network, adding that the allegations suggest “a wide range of…” Scaling human smuggling. ”
The Enforcement Directorate of India said in a news release on Tuesday that an investigation into the connections between Indian nationals and the Patel family, who froze to death while attempting to cross the border from Manitoba to Manitoba in January 2022, has linked two “entities” in Mumbai. announced that they had found evidence of human trafficking. Minnesota under frigid weather conditions.
The Enforcement Directorate said its investigation found that every year around 25,000 students are referred by one organization and more than 10,000 students are referred to various universities outside India by another organization. .
Arrangements will be made for Indian nationals to enroll in Canadian universities and apply for student visas, the Enforcement Directorate said.
However, once the Indian national arrived in Canada, instead of enrolling in a university, he illegally crossed the border from Canada into the United States, and the tuition fees received by the Canadian school were transferred to the individual’s account, the Enforcement Directorate said.
India alleges that dozens of Canadian universities are collaborating with Indian human traffickers to allow people to enter the United States. The charges were issued by Indian law enforcement following an investigation into the death of a family on the Manitoba-U.S. border.
The Office of the Director of Investigations also found that approximately 112 Canadian-based universities have entered into agreements with one entity and more than 150 have agreements with another entity.
The allegations have not been proven in court, and India has not identified the Canadian universities allegedly involved.
RCMP reaches out to India
RCMP spokeswoman Camille Boisley-Lavoie said in an email to CBC News that India has been contacted through the International Police Liaison Officer for additional information regarding the investigation.
Universities and Research Institute Canada, a national advocacy group for Canada’s post-secondary education network, said it did not have details about the nature of the universities allegedly involved in the Indian allegations.
Dana Smockum, spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Universities and Universities, said the process of applying for and receiving a study permit is completely managed by the student applicant and the post-secondary institution, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It is said to be managed.
“The Ministry of Universities has no role in this process,” Smockum said in an email to CBC News. “As our government has repeatedly done, we will continue to call on the federal government to enact stricter border control measures to protect Ontario, our institutions, and all of Canada.”
In an email to CBC News, IRCC said it has been focused on strengthening the integrity of its international student program since 2023.
The ministry said it had introduced caps on enrollment for designated learning institutions (DLIs) – schools approved by state and territory governments to take international students.
IRCC also says it has required DLIs to verify all admissions letters, introduced consequences for institutions that do not participate in student compliance exercises, and increased minimum financial requirements for study admission applicants. .
Experts say immigration system lacks oversight
But Kelly Sandberg, a former Canada Border Service officer and professor of criminology at Mount Royal University, said the system has no oversight and is “abused” by criminals crossing the border.
“This type of fraud to defraud our immigration system has actually been going on for quite some time,” he said, noting that the number of people potentially involved is “staggering.”
Sandberg laments that the United States has been using biometric technologies such as facial recognition and fingerprinting to process immigrants for more than a decade, and identity fraud has been largely eliminated within the program.
However, he said Canada does not have the personnel or technology to effectively review documents and individuals.
Indian law enforcement claims there are links between a number of Canadian universities and two Mumbai-based “entities” accused of trafficking students across the Canada-US border. There is. Criminologist Kelly Sandberg said Canada’s honor-based immigration system is being exploited by criminals crossing the border, yet there is virtually no oversight or enforcement.
Sandberg said he would be “absolutely surprised” to learn that there are universities actively and knowingly participating in this alleged criminal activity.
“But I’m not at all surprised to see people from Canada, the United States, and abroad working together to take advantage of our wide open system,” he said. I did.
Ken Zaifman, a Winnipeg-based immigration lawyer, said his experience is that the responsibility for oversight should lie with educational institutions.
“And that wasn’t the case. They relied on international students to fund the program,” he said.
Seifman said universities and institutions should have known that such problems exist in recruiting international students, but instead appoint agents outside of Canada and have no control over what they do. He said he chose to continue recruiting students.
“The numbers were so significant that no one wanted to do anything about it,” he said.
“Some universities were a little more enthusiastic, but not all. They were appointing agents and recruiting students, but perhaps had no idea that these student movements were not genuine. .”
“Night Flight” School
But Robert Huesch, associate professor at Dalhousie University’s School of International Development, believes many of the schools involved in the alleged scheme may be private universities, most of which fly by night. said.
“Some of the private universities that were facilitating this deal aren’t really universities. They have Microsoft Word in their old offices and that’s their entire curriculum,” he said.
“The focus here is not on formal colleges or universities across the country, but on these fly-by-night facilities that are opening beyond gas stations.”
