Will Evaluate Each Case: Trudeau On 700 Indian Students Facing Deportation

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has assured the 700 Indian students who are facing deportation from Canada over fake admission letters that the government will evaluate each case and the victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situation and present evidence to support their case.

His statement comes after 100s of students, mostly from Punjab, hit the streets in protest against the possibility of deportation and alleged that they were cheated by their immigration consultation agency.

As many as 700 Indian students are facing deportation from Canada after the authorities in that country found "admission offer letters" to educational institutions to be fake. The matter came to light in March when these students applied for permanent residency in Canada.

"We are deeply aware of cases of international students facing removal orders over fraudulent college acceptance letters. To be clear, our focus is on identifying the culprits not penalising the victims," the IANS quoted Trudeau as saying during a parliament debate on Wednesday.

Responding to Sikh-origin NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's concerns on the state of defrauded students, the PM said, "Victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situation and present evidence to support their case,"

"We recognise the immense contributions international students bring to our country, and we remain committed to supporting victims of fraud as we evaluate each case," Trudeau added.

Jagmeet Singh's NDP is planning to introduce a unanimous consent motion in Parliament to scrap the removal orders in order to support the students and facilitate a pathway to permanent residency for them.

"So my question is... will the Prime Minister stay the deportation of all these students that are impacted and provide a pathway to permanent residency for these students?" Singh asked Trudeau, presenting the case of victims.

On the other hand, Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal Tuesday sought the intervention of External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in the matter.

In the letter to the EAM, Dhaliwal said, "These (700) students are innocent and have been cheated by the clique of fraudsters..." "I shall be highly grateful if you again look into the matter personally and take up the matter with concerned agencies including High Commission of Canada and the government of Canada so that these students can be saved from being deported," wrote Dhaliwal.