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OTTAWA — Deportation orders for international students caught up in a fraud scheme have been put on hold while a task force investigates each case, the immigration minister announced Wednesday.

Hundreds of students might have been affected by the scheme that dates back to 2017, which sawimmigration agentsissue fake acceptance letters to get international students into Canada.

Some students had no idea their documents were forged until it came time for them apply for permanent residency, Fraser said, adding that those who were complicit in fraud will bear the consequences under Canadian law. 

Fraser said the department is aware of 57 people who have been ordered to leave the country, and that process will be paused.

A task force of senior immigration and border control officials, likely at the associate deputy minister level, will go through each case to determine whether the student was in the know about the scam or not, he said.

"The task force will consider particular factors, including whether a person has completed their study, including their level of knowledge of any fraudulent scheme that may have underpinned their application," Fraser said.

Those who are believed to be innocent victims will be offered the chance to stay in Canada for several years while they apply for permanent residency or complete their studies, he said.

The minister said affected students will be identified by the deportation orders that have already been issued, but Sarom Rho, an organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance, said many students are at different stages in the process. 

Rho's organization has supported and advocated for the students who were caught up in the scam for the last few months, and is calling on the government to offer permanent residency for the students and others who don't have status.

"There are more than 150 who are who have been tricked by these education recruiters and are facing potential removal," Rho said in an interview Wednesday.  

"More are coming forward because this has been a scam that's been five to six years in the making."

Others haven't come forward yet because they fear they will be punished for the crimes of education recruiters, Rho said.

"There's no guarantee that this investigation will result in actual justice for everybody."

Eight students have already been deported and 10 left voluntarily, Fraser told the House of Commons immigration committee, and their cases will also be reviewed. 

The committee had previously voted unanimously to call on the government to halt the deportations and give those affected a path to permanent residency on humanitarian grounds. 

At a meeting of the committee Wednesday, Conservative MP Tim Uppal questioned why it took the minister so long to act when media reports and members of the opposition have been warning about the issue for months.

Fraser said it took time to find a solution that would show compassion to those who were innocently duped by the scheme but still protect the integrity of the system and hold those culpable to account. 

"We can't cut corners when it comes to developing a process that would protect the integrity of the system," Fraser said.

The minister said it's important the government avoid a blanket approach to dealing with these fraud cases, because each person's circumstances are different. 

The immigration agents responsible for the scheme are thought to be based in India, which will make it difficult to hold them to account for their actions.

"That is something that we will have to work with partners on the global stage to ensure that the partners who rely on us to accept students continue to have enforcement mechanisms in their home countries," Fraser said. 

Deputy immigration minister Christiane Fox told the committee the department refused 976 applications generated by the same consultant involved in the fraudulent letters.

Immigration consultants are registered with a college in Canada, but that is not the case for consultants outside the country. 

Thousands of fraud cases are routinely detected each year and people are refused entry to Canada accordingly, the minister said.   

The immigration department has worked over the last few months to strengthen fraud detection when it comes to letters of acceptance, Fraser said, adding he expects to make a formal announcement in the next few months. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023. 

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press