Indians among 1,500 students face deportation risk in Canada, rights groups protest

What did police and border officials do?

The demonstration took place on 12 August in Calgary’s Saddle Ridge area. Calgary Police said the event stayed calm overall, though officers stepped in when some protesters blocked a pavement and put up structures without permission. While dealing with those bylaw issues, officers checked identification and passed details to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The CBSA later confirmed that 20 people had their status checked, and that 12 were flagged as possibly inadmissible under immigration law. All 12 were told to attend a same-day interview at a CBSA office. The agency said privacy rules stop it from naming those affected, but confirmed that anyone without permission to study or work in Canada would be expected to leave.

‘It will not work’

One of the letter’s signatories, Bikramjit Singh of the Migrant Rights Network, said the use of law enforcement at the protest was designed to scare people into silence. He said migrants would keep organising and speaking out, and that their rights would be defended.

Amnesty International Canada’s Julia Sande said the checks made people fearful of speaking publicly, regardless of their immigration history, calling it a form of intimidation.

‘We are doing the hard work’

Gurpreet Singh, who attended the protest, said officers gave him and others only an hour’s notice to reach the CBSA office, despite being partway through a 90-day grace period meant to let refused permit holders sort out their status. He said the interviewing officer questioned him using paperwork belonging to other people, and that he ended up with a one-year exclusion order. He has since filed for judicial review, and told LiveWire Calgary, “We are doing the hard work.”

Why do students say the timing is unfair?

The dispute centres on a change IRCC made to its published guidance on 24 June 2026, which set out that graduates of non-credit programmes do not qualify for a post-graduation work permit. IRCC has said this was a clarification of an existing rule rather than a new one.

Affected students say they enrolled well before that update appeared, and had been told by their institutions that the change would not apply to them. Many finished their courses in 2024, 2025 and early 2026, and stayed in Canada lawfully while their applications were processed. Refusals then began building through early July 2026. Students say what has upset them most is the inconsistency: people from the same intake, on the same course, have received different outcomes, with some approved and others refused or having permits withdrawn.

Portage College had earlier told students by email that their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit would not be affected by the rule change, provided they had started their course before September 2024.

Students have written to federal immigration officials asking them to review the timing of the new rules, and further legal challenges may follow as their 90-day window to secure a new permit runs out.