India a top source country for serious inadmissibility concerns, says CBSA intelligence report

Richard Kurland

“While few Indian nationals were described as having ties to groups of persons engaged in criminal activity and none to recognized organized crime groups, Canada has large Indian diasporas in British Colombia and the GTA, where Indo-Canadian and other multi-ethnic crime groups are active. This suggests that current crime group members are likely second or third generation Canadian citizens rather than new immigrants.”

 

A Canada Border Services Agency intelligence report from its Intelligence Operations and Analysis Division, “Indian Nationals in Canada: Serious Criminality & Organized Crime Inadmissibility Concerns – February 10, 2017” says that “despite most countries showing a drop in inadmissibly reports, reports issued against nationals of India for serious criminality and organized crime increased, making India a top source country for serious inadmissibility concerns.”

The report – obtained by Lexbase, Canada’s leading immigration publication under well-known lawyer Richard Kurland – states: “From January 1 to November 30, 2016, 96 reports for serious criminality and organized crime, sections 36(1) and 37 of the (IRPA [Immigration and Refugee Protection Act]), were issued against 84 nationals of India. For the last 20 years, India has been in the top three source countries for Permanent Residents (PR) and a top source country for Refugee claimants. Similarly to most other source countries, the number of PR and Refugee claimants has been steadily increasing over the past five years, therefore the increase in arrivals itself does not necessarily explain the rise in inadmissibility reports in 2016. Overall, most of the reports issued were for offences inside Canada, with the majority for convictions that occurred prior to 2016. Other possible contributing factors towards the increase may be duplication of reports, delays in issuing inadmissibility reports and the fact that the overall national crime rate increased in 2015.”

The report goes on to note: “The majority (63%) of individuals issued an inadmissibility report entered through the PR stream. Many were sponsored by a spouse (FC1) or their children / grandchildren (FC4). Most (76%) arrived in Canada prior to 2015, mainly between 2000 and 2010, and at the time of arrival were generally between the ages of 18 and 29. With the exception of two reports, all were written against men, mostly between the ages of 18 and 45 years. The majority of individuals came into contact with law enforcement within the first five years of their arrival.”

 

THE report states: “Most (76%) convictions fell under the Criminal Code of Canada and ranged from assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm to offences tending to corrupt morals such as child pornography and luring a child, among others. The remaining 24% of convictions fell under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, IRPA and crimes committed outside Canada, namely in the United States and India. Criminal record checks in India are difficult to obtain, it is therefore possible that more individuals had criminality in India. Drug related convictions were for possession for the purpose of trafficking and importing and exporting (namely heroin and cocaine). The most common convictions or allegations that fell under IRPA were linked to people smuggling. In one case, partners presented themselves as parents and trafficked children on behalf of a larger organization that facilitated the illegal entry of numerous children from India to the U.S. and Canada.”

The report made an interesting observation: “Few individuals in the sample had an inadmissibility report issued for drug-related offences and none were specifically detailed as belonging to a drug gang or crime group. This, despite reports of active Indo-Canadian and multi-ethnic crime groups involved in the drug trade in British Colombia and the GTA. There have been news media reports of Indo-Canadian truckers being involved in cross-border drug smuggling and that Indo-Canadian and other multi-ethnic crime groups have been involved in the cross-border drug trade. It cannot be discounted that more nationals of India with significant travel to the U.S. or with ties to the trucking industry may be inadmissible to Canada for drug-related activities.”

 

REGARDING implications for the CBSA and Canada, the report states:  “Both PR and Refugee numbers tor Indian nationals are steadily increasing. While there is no apparent correlation between the increase in arrivals and increase in inadmissibility reports based on current analysis, it is expected that India will remain a top country for inadmissibility reports given the large number of Indian temporary residents and PR in Canada. The review of inadmissibility reports shows that criminality is primarily occurring in Canada within five years of arrival. While few Indian nationals were described as having ties to groups of persons engaged in criminal activity and none to recognized organized crime groups, Canada has large Indian diasporas in British Colombia and the GTA, where Indo-Canadian and other multi-ethnic crime groups are active. This suggests that current crime group members are likely second or third generation Canadian citizens rather than new immigrants.”