Responding to queries from the Hindustan Times, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said, in an email, “Indian nationals were the largest cohort of illegal entries into the US, and that number has also decreased significantly thanks to our quick action.

“As soon as we learned of this abuse of our system, including the impact to our shared border with the US, we took action. Our swift actions have resulted in an 84% decrease in illegal crossings into the US from Canadian permit/visa holders since June 2024. They have also resulted in 61% more refusals for countries in which we have been noting the highest levels of abuse,” he added.

According to the latest data of encounters at the northern border from the US Customs and Border Patrol, in October and November last year, the total stood at 27610, including 7113 Indian nationals or over 25% of the total.

Recently, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a statement on December 24, alleged officers from its Ahmedabad office “conducted search operations” December 10 and December 19 at eight locations in Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar and Vadodara as part of the ongoing probe in the case of Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel and others” with the purpose of “for hatching a well-planned conspiracy, to send the victims/persons to USA through Canada via illegal channel thereby committing the offence of human trafficking.”

It also alleged Canadian institutions had colluded in the operations, as it said, “It is further revealed that around 112 colleges based in Canada have entered into agreement with one entity and more than 150 with another entity. Their involvement in the instant case is under investigation.”

The investigation was precipitated by the death of four Indian nationals in the province of Manitoba, close to the American border, on January 19, 2022, as they attempted to illegally cross into the US.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said it was “aware” of the ED news release and related media reports. “The RCMP has reached out to India through its International Policing Liaison Officers to seek additional information on investigations. The RCMP will not comment further at this time,” a spokesperson said.

Experts fault the Government and colleges for the human smuggling crisis. Toronto-based immigration lawyer Ravi Jain said it was “it’s pretty clear that bad actors are once again gaming our immigration system.”

“I would say this likely relates to Canada’s ‘experiment’ in allowing non-lawyers to practice law. Too many people are engaged in the practice of immigration law without having graduated from a proper law school. They learn just enough to game the system. It’s time to put an end to this,” he added.

Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said the Canadian institutions “likely do not participate in smuggling people into the USA, but immediate reporting by the schools about students who never show up to class, and, a lowering of that school’s annual study permit quota when this happens too often, are two changes that can help fix this.”

“Addressing irregular migration is a priority for Canada. Canada also works collaboratively with the US and international partners on issues of visa integrity, border management and safe and orderly migration,” the IRCC spokesperson said.

IRCC has seen an increase in exploitation of its temporary resident visas, including students. “What was once a low-risk temporary resident program is now being assessed as higher-risk given changes to the global migration context, including the growing number of conflicts and crises, increased abuse and fraud, and increased organized smuggling,” the spokesperson added.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s has threated if Ottawa does not curb the flow of illegal immigrants into America, his Administration will impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada.

According to data of encounters at the northern border from the US Customs and Border Patrol, the number of Indians attempting to enter the United States illegally grew to over 20% of the total, which, in itself, has also increased.

The CBP provides data according to its fiscal year, which runs from October to September the next year. In 2022, of the overall 109535 such attempted crossings into the US, Indians comprised nearly 16%. That percentage remained constant in 2023, though the figures rose sharply to a total of 189402, with Indians accounting for 30010. There has been an appreciable increase this year, with 43764 Indians, close to 22% of the total 198929, trying to enter the US illegally.

The data, of course, is limited to those that were apprehended by border officers and the numbers of those not detected are unavailable.