A week after a Pakistani national, who entered Canada on a student visa, was arrested on terrorism-related charges, Canada’s study permit system has come under intense scrutiny. Many students feel they are being made scapegoats for the failures of the immigration system.
The 20-year-old, Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, was arrested in Ormstown, Quebec, last week. He faces terrorism charges in both Canada and the United States, accused of planning major attacks in New York City targeting the Jewish community.
Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller confirmed that Khan had entered Canada on a study visa in May 2023. He arrived in Toronto in June of the same year. While Miller confirmed the student visa, he declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing court case.
US authorities allege Khan planned to use guns and knives to carry out a mass shooting in support of the Islamic State group on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the latest conflict in the Middle East.
The Conservative opposition party in Canada has been demanding answers from the government about how Khan was allowed into the country. Minister Miller responded by stating that Canada takes security breaches seriously and that authorities apprehended the individual. He added that the Canadian police forces did their jobs and that the court case will take its course.
The arrest and subsequent scrutiny of study permits are likely to exacerbate existing anti-immigration sentiment in Canada. A crisis in shelter affordability has been linked to a large influx of temporary residents, particularly students. Many of these students, now in Canada on post-graduate work permits, are facing an increasingly uncertain future.
In response, the activist group Naujawan Support Network has organized an indefinite protest in Brampton, a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Bikramjit Singh, a key organizer from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab, told Hindustan Times that nearly 130,000 former international students are projected to see their work permits expire by the end of this year and in 2025. They could face potential deportation as pathways to permanent residence have become increasingly restricted.
Singh, who came to Canada as a student in 2019, stated that they have received no assistance from Canadian politicians due to the prevailing anti-immigration sentiment. “Because of the political scenario, they’re not doing anything. Also, we’re not voters,” he said.
The indefinite protest, which began last Friday, will continue until their demands are met. These demands include extending work permits, issuing post-graduate work permits to all international students, and establishing a fair pathway to permanent residency. Currently, some students are resorting to filing refugee claims, attempting to enter the US illegally, or entering into marriages to maintain their status in Canada.
This protest echoes last year’s situation, where former international students from India faced deportation due to forged documents used by immigration consultants. That protest, which began in May and ended in the summer, led to a government amnesty for those who had genuinely come to study. This was due to pressure from MPs and political leaders who joined the demonstrators.
