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Recently the minimum points required to qualify for Express Entry permanent residency programs, like the Canadian Experience Class, have been extremely high. Migrant Workers Alliance for Change will submit a proposal to the federal government on how to fix Express Entry based on the collective priorities of current and former international students like you.

You can choose to stay anonymous, and your answers will be kept confidential.

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Current & former international students: Sign up and join others like you for upcoming actions, workshops, socials, and activities.

Scroll to see events in Toronto and across the country.

Toronto / GTA

November 9: Popcorn and Movie Night!

Get cozy, eat popcorn and watch a movie with others like you. Popcorn, snacks and hot drinks provided. Register below so we know how much popcorn to get.

Thursday November 9 from 6pm-8pm
MWAC Offices – click here for map
720 Spadina Avenue, suite 223

ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Sign now: Fairness Agenda for Migrant Students!

Current and graduated international students (Migrant Student Workers) are now the largest group of temporary migrants in the country. We are uniting as migrants for our rights, for justice and dignity. 

Sign the petition to #MakeItFair: MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/MSUFairness

If you are part of an organization, endorse the Fairness Agenda platform so we can unite: MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/FairnessAgenda

ENSURE STATUS FOR ALL MIGRANT STUDENT WORKERS

• Fix Express Entry: Fair CRS calculations, predictable draws, no one left out
• Value all work in immigration selection: In any NOC/TEER, work done on the study permit, in co-op
• No exclusions: PR status for all regardless of age, immigration status, work, language and education requirements

FIX PERMITS

• Permanently end the 20 hour work rule for study permit holders
• Make PGWP renewable, and include private college students
• Allow co-op work authorization without extra permits 
• Permit protections for vulnerable and destitute migrant student workers
• No industry of work restrictions

LOWER TUITION, ENSURE GOOD JOBS & ALL SERVICES

• Fair tuition: No differential treatment, caps on tuition increases, stop the fees 
• Ensure access to employment and decent work; end wage theft and labour exploitation. 
• Ensure full access to all services including healthcare, housing, jobs, scholarships, and in-school support
• Ensure family unity

On Wednesday June 14, 2023, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser held a media event and released a statement after an incredible 18 day permanent protest by Punjabi students in Toronto outside of immigration enforcement headquarters. These students have been “deemed inadmissible” or are facing inadmissibility hearings and several dozen are facing deportation. 

Continue reading to learn what was announced. Permanent solutions are still needed: permanent cancellation of deportation orders, immediate access to regularization and permanent resident status for all – sign the petition to send a message to decision makers: MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/StopDeportations

Based on the information available as of June 14, here is what we know: 

1. There will be an 8 week case-by-case investigation by a task force of immigration and immigration enforcement officials (IRCC and CBSA) to determine who was tricked and misrepresented by these recruiters.
2. Migrant students who have pending deportation orders will be given a temporary resident permit (TRP) and will have their deportation halted for 8 weeks as the investigation is underway.
3. Within these 8 weeks, migrant students who are considered by the task force to be “genuine applicants’ and deemed to not know of the fraud will have their inadmissibility waived and their temporary resident permits will be extended for 3 years.
4. Those students already deported will have a process to return to Canada.

This is a significant victory that is a direct result of sustained, courageous action by migrant students and their supporters. 

There are a number of very important issues that are unaddressed and concerns that have not been resolved: 

1. Many of the impacted students have not yet gotten a decision on their admissibility hearings and/or have not yet been issued deportation orders. The Minister did not say that they would receive temporary resident permits (TRP). This leaves the majority of affected students in limbo.
2. It is unclear if and how students will be able to apply for the TRP. Students may receive communication from Immigration Canada. 
3. There are no clear details on how students who will be investigated will participate in the proceedings. It is unknown if they will be able to present a case, or have a lawyer present. The criteria has not been announced, and it is not known who the burden of proof will fall onto; i.e. it is not known if students will have to prove that they did not engage in fraud or not.
4. The investigative process is individualized on a case-by-case basis, even as the impacted students took action collectively and demanded a political response. 
5. It is not clear what remedies or right of appeal will be available to those deemed to have conducted fraud.
6. Even with TRPs extended for students, there is no clarity on how people will get justice and permanent resident status. Some are already undocumented. And a 3 year temporary permit means that exploitation, denial of equal rights and protections will continue, with no guarantee that students will be invited for PR at the end. 

As more information becomes available, we will continue to update this page. Permanent solutions are still needed. We deserve a permanent cancellation of deportation orders, immediate access to regularization and permanent resident status for all – sign the petition to send a message to decision makers: MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/StopDeportations

Follow the students at Stand for Student and Naujawan Support Network for more.

Our names are Ramanjot, Karamjit, Lovepreet, Dimple and Harpreet. We are some of the former international students who are facing deportation after being scammed by education recruiters, such as Brijesh Mishra. There’s not a lot of time left. Please support our fight for justice by sending a message to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser. Read our stories and sign the petition below.

Update on International Students Fight Against Deportation

Read here, and check regularly for updates: https://migrantworkersalliance.org/deportationupdate/

After an incredible 18 day permanent protest by Punjabi students in Toronto outside of immigration enforcement headquarters, on Wednesday June 14, 2023, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser held a media event and released a statement. Read more here about what was announced and what concerns remain.

Permanent protest ends after 18 days of incredible struggle!

Since Sunday May 28, students facing deportation have been holding down a 24/7 protest in front of immigration enforcement headquarters in Mississauga (Greater Toronto Area). Hundreds from the community have been uniting and rallying for justice. Every night, there’s a community gathering at 7pm – with food, speeches, performances – but you can drop by any time. Join the fight for justice!

6900 Airport Road, closest to entrance 93
https://goo.gl/maps/F21q4zSnTyy97Sdk8

Follow the students at Stand for Student & Naujawan Support Network to see more!

June 8: Urgent Action at Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s Office!

11am
Thursday June 8
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office
511 Lawrence Ave W
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/NsEumZsKVtUFu2MS6

Join a rally to stop the deportation of international students and call for permanent resident status for all. More than a 100 international students are facing deportation after being tricked by education recruiters. Most of these students have spent more than half a decade in this country, have completed studies, work and live here. Time is running out, Lovepreet Singh’s deportation is in less than a week.

Let’s stand for justice together.

If you’ve questions, contact:
* Sarom: sarom@migrantworkersalliance.org, 416-887-8315
* Gurjeet: 647-575-9607
* Bikram: 647-612-5161

Our stories

Read more about our struggles and stories here:

• CBC News: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/international-student-deportation-toronto-1.6869251
• Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/06/02/the-dream-is-shattered-says-student-facing-deportation-as-supporters-join-rally-over-fake-admission-letter.html
• City News Vancouver: https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/06/05/india-international-students-deportation/
• The Pie News: https://thepienews.com/news/canada-fraud-investigation-students-fight-deportation/
• Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/surrey-man-facing-deportation-in-fake-admission-letter-scandal-affecting-hundreds
• MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/focus-not-to-penalise-victims-canadian-minister-on-30-indian-students-facing-deportation/ar-AA1bLuO1?li=AAgges1
• CTV News: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/don-t-punish-int-l-students-over-fake-admission-letters-advocate-1.6330344
• The Real News: https://therealnews.com/he-thought-hed-been-accepted-to-a-canadian-university-until-officials-tried-to-deport-him
• CBC Vancouver: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-vicitm-suspected-immigration-scam-1.6874065

Karamjeet Kaur

My name is Karamjeet Kaur, and I am facing deportation on May 29th, 2023. Why? I am being punished because my immigration agent tricked me and submitted a fake school admission letter back in 2018 when he applied for my permit. I have been living in Canada for the past five years, I did everything for this country and it is my home now. I did my study in Edmonton College Norquest and got the post graduate work permit. For the past four years, I am working at as a full-time supervisor at a warehouse.

I applied for my permanent residency, but to my shock, I got called in for an interview with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). They told me about that fake offer letter, which I had no idea about before. I never thought that this could happen. I did everything according to the rules, and even got my post-graduate work permit. But Canada still wants to deport me and hundreds of other students.

I have very less time left. CBSA issued me a deportation plane ticket for May 29. But I am still taking action to get justice, so that I can stay in Canada. I applied for a Humanitarian and Compassionate application, and I am asking to get a stay on my deportation until I get the decision on my application, which is in process. I am requesting Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser to look into this and do the right thing to ensure justice for me and the other students who are victims of this fraud. Please support us by signing the petition and sharing with everybody you know.

In 2021, 2022 and again in 2023, our collective organizing resulted in the federal government allowing Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) holders to extend our permits. Yet again, it is not clear who will be able to apply for the 2023 renewal. At the same time, these are temporary one-time measures, and many of us are in crisis because we cannot get our permanent resident status. Express Entry draws are inconsistent and points needed for Canadian Experience Class are too high. We deserve permanent solutions.

Enter your information below to get updates on the PGWP program as it is announced, and to send a letter to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser asking him to fix Express Entry.

Open Letter from Migrant Students

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, we are calling on you to ensure permanent resident status for migrant student workers like me. Many of us have expired or expiring permits for reasons beyond our control. We live here, we work here, we have formed homes and communities here, and we deserve to stay.

Too many have been left out from the 2022 post graduate work permit (PGWP) extension policy, even though we faced some of the worst moments of the pandemic, including the highest unemployment rate in Canadian history. We call on you to enact immediate solutions such as:
* Make the Post Graduate Work Permit permanently renewable;
* Ensure Canadian Experience Class (CEC) specific draws to address the aftermath of the 9 month suspension of draws;
* Fix Express Entry by valuing work in all NOC/TEER levels, including TEER 4 and 5, ensuring fair CRS calculations and predictable, transparent draws;
* No exclusions: PR status for all regardless of age, immigration status, work, language and education requirements.

We deserve equal rights and dignity, and that means permanent resident status for all of us.

Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.