Canadian border agents deemed a dozen Indian students potentially inadmissible to Canada under the country’s immigration and refugee protection law after checking the status of 20 of them at a protest in Calgary in the western province of Alberta, a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokesperson told the newspaper The Globe and Mail on Tuesday.
“When the CBSA becomes aware of foreign nationals who may be inadmissible to Canada, CBSA officers will investigate and take appropriate action. “During the interaction, officers requested identification from individuals who had set up tents or other structures without a permit on city property. The presence of border agents at the protest venue was unprecedented in recent Canadian history. Videos of the CBSA agents at the site were posted on social media. Students, who did not want to be named, spoke about the action to Hindustan Times and Red FM Calgary.
A Calgary Police spokesperson said they were called to the protest site due to complaints. As a result of concerns related to the identification provided, officers contacted the Canada Border Services Agency for verification.
The CBSA spokesperson told The Globe and Mail that foreign nationals admitted to Canada are unable to work or study unless authorised and are expected to depart Canada at the end of their authorised period of stay. The Globe and Mail reported that Calgary Police asked CBSA to conduct a “status check” on four people at the protest and subsequently found that two of them were not in compliance with their immigration status. The outlet Juno News reported that CBSA officers “raided” the weeks-long international student protest.
